Thermo-compression head, soldering system, and led tube lamp

ABSTRACT

A thermo-compression head, a soldering system, and a LED tube lamp are disclosed. The thermo-compression head includes a bonding plane, a restraining plane, one or more concave guiding tank, and one or more concave molding tank. The bonding plane is for touching a second object. The restraining plane is adjacent to the bonding plane for touching a first object soldered to the second object. The concave guiding tank is formed on the bonding plane. An end of the concave guiding tank is opened near an edge of the bonding plane while an opposite end of the concave guiding tank is closed. The concave molding tank is formed on the restraining plane and positioned beside the concave guiding tank. The concave molding tank communicates with the concave guiding tank via the open end of the concave guiding tank.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation application of U.S. application Ser.No. 14/865,387 filed in United States on Sep. 25, 2015, which itselfclaims Chinese priorities under 35 U.S.C. §119(a) of Patent ApplicationsNo. CN 201410507660.9 filed on 2014 Sep. 28; CN 201410508899.8 filed on2014 Sep. 28; CN 201410623355.6 filed on 2014 Nov. 6; CN 201410734425.5filed on 2014 Dec. 5; CN 201510075925.7 filed on 2015 Feb. 12; CN201510104823.3 filed on 2015 Mar. 11; CN 201510134586.5 filed on 2015Mar. 26; CN 201510133689.x filed on 2015 Mar. 25; CN 201510136796.8filed on 2015 Mar. 27; CN 201510173861.4 filed on 2015 Apr. 14; CN201510155807.7 filed on 2015 Apr. 3; CN 201510193980.6 filed on 2015Apr. 22; CN 201510372375.5 filed on 2015 Jun. 26; CN 201510259151.3filed on 2015 May 19; CN 201510268927.8 filed on 2015 May 22; CN201510284720.x filed on 2015 May 29; CN 201510338027.6 filed on 2015Jun. 17; CN 201510315636.x filed on 2015 Jun. 10; CN 201510373492.3filed on 2015 Jun. 26; CN 201510364735.7 filed on 2015 Jun. 26; CN201510378322.4 filed on 2015 Jun. 29; CN 201510391910.1 filed on 2015Jul. 2; CN 201510406595.5 filed on 2015 Jul. 10; CN 201510482944.1 filedon 2015 Aug. 7; CN 201510486115.0 filed on 2015 Aug. 8; CN201510428680.1 filed on 2015 Jul. 20; CN 201510483475.5 filed on 2015Aug. 8; CN 201510555543.4 filed on 2015 Sep. 2; CN 201510557717.0 filedon 2015 Sep. 6; and CN 201510595173.7 filed on 2015 Sep. 18, thedisclosures of which are incorporated herein in their entirety byreference.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present disclosure relates to illumination devices and manufacturingequipment, and more particularly to an LED tube lamp and its componentsincluding the light sources, electronic components, and end caps and toa thermo-compression head and a soldering system for manufacturing thecomponents of the LED tube lamp.

BACKGROUND

LED lighting technology is rapidly developing to replace traditionalincandescent and fluorescent lightings. LED tube lamps are mercury-freein comparison with fluorescent tube lamps that need to be filled withinert gas and mercury. Thus, it is not surprising that LED tube lampsare becoming a highly desired illumination option among differentavailable lighting systems used in homes and workplaces, which used tobe dominated by traditional lighting options such as compact fluorescentlight bulbs (CFLs) and fluorescent tube lamps. Benefits of LED tubelamps include improved durability and longevity and far less energyconsumption; therefore, when taking into account all factors, they wouldtypically be considered as a cost effective lighting option.

Typical LED tube lamps have a lamp tube, a circuit board disposed insidethe lamp tube with light sources being mounted on the circuit board, andend caps accompanying a power supply provided at two ends of the lamptube with the electricity from the power supply transmitting to thelight sources through the circuit board. However, existing LED tubelamps have certain drawbacks.

First, the typical circuit board is rigid and allows the entire lamptube to maintain a straight tube configuration when the lamp tube ispartially ruptured or broken, and this gives the user a false impressionthat the LED tube lamp remains usable and is likely to cause the user tobe electrically shocked upon handling or installation of the LED tubelamp.

Second, the rigid circuit board is typically electrically connected withthe end caps by way of wire bonding, in which the wires may be easilydamaged and even broken due to any move during manufacturing,transportation, and usage of the LED tube lamp and therefore may disablethe LED tube lamp.

Third, the lamp tube and the end caps are often secured together byusing hot melt adhesive or silicone adhesive, and it is hard to preventthe buildup of excess (overflown) adhesive residues. This may causelight blockage as well as an unpleasant aesthetic appearance. Inaddition, a large amount of manpower is required to clean off theexcessive adhesive buildup, create a further production bottleneck andinefficiency. Also, bad heat dissipation of the power supply componentsinside the end caps can cause a high temperature and therefore reduceslife span of the hot melt adhesive and simultaneously disables theadhesion between the lamp tube and the end caps, which may decrease thereliability of the LED tube lamp.

Fourth, the typical lamp tube is a long cylinder sleeved with the endcaps at ends by means of adhesive, in which the end caps each has alarger diameter than that of the lamp tube. In this way, a packing boxfor the lamp tube—which is also typically in cylinder shape—will contactonly the end caps such that only the end caps are supported and theconnecting part between the end caps and the lamp tube is apt to break,such as disclosed LED tube lamp in a published US patent applicationwith publication no. US 2014226320 and a published CN patent applicationwith publication no. CN 102518972. To address this issue, a published USpatent application with publication no. US 20100103673 discloses an endcap that is sealed and inserted into a glass made lamp tube. However,this kind of lamp tube is subjected to inner stresses at its ends andmay easily break when the ends are subjected to external forces, whichmay lead to product defects and quality issues.

Fifth, grainy visual appearances are also often found in theaforementioned conventional LED tube lamp. The LED chips spatiallyarranged on the circuit board inside the lamp tube are considered asspot light sources, and the lights emitted from these LED chipsgenerally do not contribute uniform illuminance for the LED tube lampwithout proper optical manipulation. As a result, the entire tube lampwould exhibit a grainy or non-uniform illumination effect to a viewer ofthe LED tube lamp, thereby negatively affecting the visual comfort andeven narrowing the viewing angles of the lights. As a result, thequality and aesthetics requirements of average consumers would not besatisfied. To address this issue, the Chinese patent application withapplication no. CN 201320748271.6 discloses a diffusion tube is disposedinside a glass lamp tube to avoid grainy visual effects.

However, the disposition of the diffusion tube incurs an interface onthe light transmission path to increase the likelihood of totalreflection and therefore decrease the light outputting efficiency. Inaddition, the optical rotatory absorption of the diffusion tubedecreases the light outputting efficiency.

Further, soldering pads on the circuit board with the light sources andthe soldering pads on the power supply are soldered together. However,the connection between the circuit board with the light sources and thepower supply is not firm when tin solders on the soldering pads melt andbleed out. The circuit board intervening between a soldering equipmentand the tin solders also causes negative influence to the connection.Moreover, the soldering equipment is not able to fit the tin solderswhen the heights of tin solders on the soldering pads are not identical.

Accordingly, the prevent disclosure and its embodiments are hereinprovided.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It's specially noted that the present disclosure may actually includeone or more inventions claimed currently or not yet claimed, and foravoiding confusion due to unnecessarily distinguishing between thosepossible inventions at the stage of preparing the specification, thepossible plurality of inventions herein may be collectively referred toas “the (present) invention” herein.

Various embodiments are summarized in this section, and are describedwith respect to the “present invention,” which terminology is used todescribe certain presently disclosed embodiments, whether claimed ornot, and is not necessarily an exhaustive description of all possibleembodiments, but rather is merely a summary of certain embodiments.Certain of the embodiments described below as various aspects of the“present invention” can be combined in different manners to form an LEDtube lamp or a portion thereof.

The present invention provides a novel LED tube lamp, and aspectsthereof.

The present invention provides an LED tube lamp including a lamp tubeand a set of end caps secured to the ends of the lamp tube, wherein theend caps each may have an electrically insulating tube and a thermalconductive member which is fixedly disposed on an outer circumferentialsurface of the electrically insulating tube and adhered to an outersurface of the lamp tube by using adhesive.

The present invention also provides an LED tube lamp including a lamptube and two differently sized end caps respectively secured to two endsof the lamp tube. The size of one end cap may be 30% to 80% of the sizeof the other end cap in some embodiments.

The present invention provides an LED tube lamp including a lamp tube,an end cap disposed at one end of the lamp tube, a power supply providedinside the end cap, a LED light strip disposed inside the lamp tube withlight sources mounted on the LED light strip, wherein the LED lightstrip has a bendable circuit sheet to electrically connect the lightsources and the power supply.

The bendable circuit sheet may be a conductive wiring layer, and thelight sources are mounted on the conductive wiring layer to allowelectrical connection between the light sources and the power supplythrough the conductive wiring layer.

The bendable circuit sheet may further include a dielectric layerstacked on the conductive wiring layer. The dielectric layer may bestacked on a surface of the conductive wiring layer that is opposite tothe surface having the light sources. The dielectric layer may bemounted onto the inner surface of the lamp tube. In some embodiments, aratio of the circumferential length of the bendable circuit sheet to thecircumferential length of the inner surface of the lamp tube is about0.3 to 0.5.

The bendable circuit sheet may further include a circuit protectionlayer.

The bendable circuit sheet and the power supply may be connected by wirebonding.

The bendable circuit sheet may be disposed on the reflective film.

The bendable circuit sheet may be disposed on one side of the reflectivefilm.

The bendable circuit sheet may be disposed such that the reflective filmis disposed on two sides of the bendable circuit sheet and extends alongthe circumferential direction of the lamp tube.

The lamp tube may have adhesive film on the inner surface or outersurface thereof to isolate inside and outside of the lamp tube that isbroken.

The bendable circuit sheet may have its ends pass through the transitionregion to reach and electrically connect the power supply.

The bendable circuit sheet may have a set of conductive wiring layersand a set of dielectric layers that are stacked in a staggered mannerand the light sources are disposed on the outmost conductive wiringlayer through which the electrical power supplies.

The bendable circuit sheet may be positioned along the axial directionof the lamp tube and have its ends detached from an inner surface of thelamp tube. The bendable circuit sheet may have its ends extend beyondtwo ends of the lamp tube to respectively form two freely extending endportions with the freely extending end portions being curled up, coiledor deformed in shape to be fittingly accommodated inside the lamp tube.

The power supply may be in the form of a single integrated unit (e.g.,with all components of the power supply are within a body) disposed inan end cap at one end of the lamp tube. Alternatively, the power supplymay be in form of two separate parts (e.g., with the components of thepower supply are separated into two pieces) respectively disposed in twoend caps.

The end cap may include a socket for connection with a power supply.

The power supply may have a metal pin at one end, while the end cap maybe provided with a hollow conductive pin to accommodate the metal pin ofthe power supply.

The bendable circuit sheet may be connected to the power supply viasoldering bonding.

The LED light strip may be connected to the power supply by utilizing acircuit-board assembly which has a long circuit sheet and a shortcircuit board that are adhered to each other with the short circuitboard being adjacent to the side edge of the long circuit sheet. Theshort circuit board may be provided with a power supply module to formthe power supply. The short circuit board is stiffer than the longcircuit sheet to be able to support the power supply module. The longcircuit sheet may be the bendable circuit sheet of the LED light strip.

The short circuit board may have a length generally of about 15 mm toabout 40 mm and may preferably be about 19 mm to about 36 mm, while thelong circuit sheet may have a length generally of about 800 mm to about2800 mm and may preferably be about 1200 mm to about 2400 mm. In someembodiments, a ratio of the length of the short circuit board to thelength of the long circuit sheet ranges from about 1:20 to about 1:200.

The short circuit board may be a hard circuit board to support the powersupply module.

The power supply module and the long circuit sheet may be arranged onthe same side of the short circuit board such that the power supplymodule is directly connected to the long circuit sheet. Alternatively,the power supply module and the long circuit sheet may be arranged onopposite sides of the short circuit board, respectively, such that thepower supply module is directly connected to the short circuit board andfurther connected to the wiring layer of the long circuit sheet.

The power supply module may be connected to the end of the short circuitboard in a perpendicular manner (such that the printed circuit boardsupporting the power supply module of the power supply is not parallelbut may be perpendicular to the short circuit board).

The bendable circuit sheet may have parts to be curled up, coiled ordeformed in shape to be fittingly accommodated inside the lamp tube byforming freely extending portion at ends of the bendable circuit sheetalong the axial direction of the lamp tube. Therefore, the manufacturingand assembling process of the LED lamp tube become more convenient.

The connection between the bendable circuit sheet and the power supplyinside the end cap may be firmly secured by directly soldering thebendable circuit sheet to the output terminal of the power supply.

The connection between the bendable circuit sheet and the printedcircuit board supporting the power supply module of the power supply maybe strengthened and not break easily by utilizing a circuit boardassembly.

The design and manufacturing flexibility of the LED tube lamp isincreased by utilizing different types of power supply modules for thepower supply.

The present invention provides embodiments of a thermo-compression headfor heating a solder and bonding at least one first soldering pad on afirst object and at least one second soldering pad on a second object.The first object overlays a part of the second object. The at least onesecond soldering pad is between the first object and the second object.The at least one first soldering pad is aligned with the at least onesecond soldering pad. The thermo-compression head comprises a bondingplane, a restraining plane, at least one concave guiding tank, and atleast one concave molding tank. The bonding plane is for touching thesecond object. The restraining plane is adjacent to the bonding planefor touching the first object. The at least one concave guiding tank isformed on the bonding plane. An end of the at least one concave guidingtank is opened near an edge of the bonding plane while an opposite endof the at least one concave guiding tank is closed. The at least oneconcave molding tank is formed on the restraining plane and ispositioned beside the at least one concave guiding tank. The at leastone concave molding tank communicates with the at least one concaveguiding tank via the open end of the at least one concave guiding tank.

In some embodiments, the at least one concave molding tank is moredepressed than the at least one concave guiding tank.

In some embodiments, the restraining plane is lower than the bondingplane to form a difference of height of the bonding plane and therestraining plane.

In some embodiments, the difference of height of the bonding plane andthe restraining plane is substantially equal to a thickness of the firstobject.

In some embodiments, an end of the at least one concave molding tank isopened near an edge of the restraining plane to communicate with the atleast one concave guiding tank while an opposite end of the at least oneconcave molding tank is opened near an opposite edge of the restrainingplane.

In some embodiments, the restraining plane has a strip-like structure ora grid-like structure on a surface for pressing the first object.

In some embodiments, the bonding plane has a surface being flat,concave, or convex for touching the second object.

In some embodiments, the bonding plane is for heating a solder.

In some embodiments, the first object is an LED light strip, the secondobject is a power supply, the at least one first soldering pad is on aside of the LED light strip away from the power supply, and the at leastone first soldering pad is formed with a through hole and is able to beconnected to the at least one second soldering pad via the through hole.

In some embodiments, the thermo-compression head further comprises arotary linkage mechanism. The bonding plane and the restraining planeare connected to the rotary linkage mechanism.

In some embodiments, the thermo-compression head further comprises apressure sensor. The pressure sensor detects the pressure applied to thebonding plane or the restraining plane.

The present invention provides embodiments of a soldering system forheating a solder and bonding at least one first soldering pad on a firstobject and at least one second soldering pad on a second object. Thefirst object overlays a part of the second object. The at least onesecond soldering pad is between the first object and the second object.The at least one first soldering pad is aligned with the at least onesecond soldering pad. The soldering system comprises a soldering vehicleand the aforementioned thermo-compression head. The soldering vehiclecomprises a rotary platform and a vehicle holder. The rotary platform isfor holding the first object and the second object. The vehicle holderbears the rotary platform. The rotary platform is able to rotate withrespect to the vehicle holder. The thermo-compression head is positionedcorresponding to the rotary platform.

The present invention provides embodiments of an LED tube lamp. The LEDtube lamp is manufactured by a soldering system for heating a solder andbonding at least one first soldering pad on a first object and at leastone second soldering pad on a second object. The first object overlays apart of the second object. The at least one second soldering pad isbetween the first object and the second object. The at least one firstsoldering pad is aligned with the at least one second soldering pad.

According to embodiments of the present invention, the LED tube lampcomprises a lamp tube, two end caps, a power supply, and an LED lightstrip. The two end caps are respectively at two opposite ends of thelamp tube. The power supply is in one or separately in both of the endcaps. The LED light strip is in the lamp tube. The LED light strip isprovided with a plurality of LED light sources mounted thereon. The LEDlight sources is electrically connected to the power supply via the LEDlight strip. The LED light strip overlays a part of the power supply.The LED light strip comprises at least one first soldering pad. Thepower supply comprises at least one second soldering pad. The at leastone second soldering pad is between the LED light strip and the powersupply. The at least one first soldering pad is aligned with the atleast one second soldering pad. The at least one first soldering pad isconnected to the at least one second soldering pad via a solder.

In some embodiments, the at least one first soldering pad is on a sideof the LED light strip away from the power supply, and the at least onefirst soldering pad is formed with a through hole and is connected tothe at least one second soldering pad via the through hole.

In some embodiments, a part of the solder is in the through hole andanother part of the solder is around an edge of the LED light strip.

In some embodiments, the two end caps have different sizes in a lengthdirection along the axle of the end caps.

In some embodiments, the size of one of the end caps is substantially30% to 80% times the size of the other one of the end caps.

According to embodiments of the present invention, the soldering pads onthe LED light strip and the soldering pads on the printed circuit boardof the power supply can be firmly soldered together. The tin solders onthe soldering pads can be received by the tank to form solder balls andwon't bleed out. The thermo-compression head is rotatable to fit tinsolders even if the heights of solders on the soldering pads are notidentical. After soldering, the tin solders between the LED light stripand the power supply can function as rivets to enhance the securecapability of the electrically connecting structure.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view schematically illustrating an LED tube lampaccording to one embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 1A is a perspective view schematically illustrating the differentsized end caps of an LED tube lamp according to another embodiment ofthe present invention to illustrate;

FIG. 2 is an exemplary exploded view schematically illustrating the LEDtube lamp shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view schematically illustrating front and top ofan end cap of the LED tube lamp according to one embodiment of thepresent invention;

FIG. 4 is an exemplary perspective view schematically illustratingbottom of the end cap as shown in FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a plane cross-sectional partial view schematicallyillustrating a connecting region of the end cap and the lamp tube of theLED tube lamp according to one embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 6 is a perspective cross-sectional view schematically illustratinginner structure of an all-plastic end cap (having a magnetic metalmember and hot melt adhesive inside) according to another embodiment ofthe present invention;

FIG. 7 is a perspective view schematically illustrating the all-plasticend cap and the lamp tube being bonded together by utilizing aninduction coil according to certain embodiments of the presentinvention;

FIG. 8 is a perspective view schematically illustrating a supportingportion and a protruding portion of the electrically insulating tube ofthe end cap of the LED tube lamp according to the another embodiment ofthe present invention;

FIG. 9 is an exemplary plane cross-sectional view schematicallyillustrating the inner structure of the electrically insulating tube andthe magnetic metal member of the end cap of FIG. 8 taken along a lineX-X;

FIG. 10 is a plane view schematically illustrating the configuration ofthe openings on surface of the magnetic metal member of the end cap ofthe LED tube lamp according to the another embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIG. 11 is a plane view schematically illustrating theindentation/embossment on a surface of the magnetic metal member of theend cap of the LED tube lamp according to certain embodiments of thepresent invention;

FIG. 12 is an exemplary plane cross-sectional view schematicallyillustrating the structure of the connection of the end cap of FIG. 8and the lamp tube along a radial axis of the lamp tube, where theelectrically insulating tube is in shape of a circular ring;

FIG. 13 is an exemplary plane cross-sectional view schematicallyillustrating the structure of the connection of the end cap of FIG. 8and the lamp tube along a radial axis of the lamp tube, where theelectrically insulating tube is in shape of an elliptical or oval ring;

FIG. 14 is a perspective view schematically illustrating still anotherend cap of an LED tube lamp according to still another embodiment of theprevent invention;

FIG. 15 is a plane cross-sectional view schematically illustrating endstructure of a lamp tube of the LED tube lamp according to oneembodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 16 is an exemplary plane cross-sectional view schematicallyillustrating the local structure of the transition region of the end ofthe lamp tube of FIG. 15;

FIG. 17 is a plane cross-sectional view schematically illustratinginside structure of the lamp tube of the LED tube lamp according to oneembodiment of the present invention, wherein two reflective films arerespectively adjacent to two sides of the LED light strip along thecircumferential direction of the lamp tube;

FIG. 18 is a plane cross-sectional view schematically illustratinginside structure of the lamp tube of the LED tube lamp according toanother embodiment of the present invention, wherein only a reflectivefilm is disposed on one side of the LED light strip along thecircumferential direction of the lamp tube;

FIG. 19 is a plane cross-sectional view schematically illustratinginside structure of the lamp tube of the LED tube lamp according tostill another embodiment of the present invention, wherein thereflective film is under the LED light strip and extends at both sidesalong the circumferential direction of the lamp tube;

FIG. 20 is a plane cross-sectional view schematically illustratinginside structure of the lamp tube of the LED tube lamp according to yetanother embodiment of the present invention, wherein the reflective filmis under the LED light strip and extends at only one side along thecircumferential direction of the lamp tube;

FIG. 21 is a plane cross-sectional view schematically illustratinginside structure of the lamp tube of the LED tube lamp according tostill yet another embodiment of the present invention, wherein tworeflective films are respectively adjacent to two sides of the LED lightstrip and extending along the circumferential direction of the lamptube;

FIG. 22 is a plane sectional view schematically illustrating the LEDlight strip is a bendable circuit sheet with ends thereof passing acrossthe transition region of the lamp tube of the LED tube lamp to besoldering bonded to the output terminals of the power supply accordingto one embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 23 is a plane cross-sectional view schematically illustrating abi-layered structure of the bendable circuit sheet of the LED lightstrip of the LED tube lamp according to an embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIG. 24 is a perspective view schematically illustrating the solderingpad of the bendable circuit sheet of the LED light strip for solderingconnection with the printed circuit board of the power supply of the LEDtube lamp according to one embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 25 is a plane view schematically illustrating the arrangement ofthe soldering pads of the bendable circuit sheet of the LED light stripof the LED tube lamp according to one embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIG. 26 is a plane view schematically illustrating a row of threesoldering pads of the bendable circuit sheet of the LED light strip ofthe LED tube lamp according to another embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIG. 27 is a plane view schematically illustrating two rows of solderingpads of the bendable circuit sheet of the LED light strip of the LEDtube lamp according to still another embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIG. 28 is a plane view schematically illustrating a row of foursoldering pads of the bendable circuit sheet of the LED light strip ofthe LED tube lamp according to yet another embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIG. 29 is a plane view schematically illustrating two rows of twosoldering pads of the bendable circuit sheet of the LED light strip ofthe LED tube lamp according to yet still another embodiment of thepresent invention;

FIG. 30 is a plane view schematically illustrating through holes areformed on the soldering pads of the bendable circuit sheet of the LEDlight strip of the LED tube lamp according to one embodiment of thepresent invention;

FIG. 31 is a plane cross-sectional view schematically illustratingsoldering bonding process utilizing the soldering pads of the bendablecircuit sheet of the LED light strip of FIG. 30 taken from side view andthe printed circuit board of the power supply according to oneembodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 32 is a plane cross-sectional view schematically illustratingsoldering bonding process utilizing the soldering pads of the bendablecircuit sheet of the LED light strip of FIG. 30 taken from side view andthe printed circuit board of the power supply according to anotherembodiment of the present invention, wherein the through hole of thesoldering pads is near the edge of the bendable circuit sheet;

FIG. 33 is a plane view schematically illustrating notches formed on thesoldering pads of the bendable circuit sheet of the LED light strip ofthe LED tube lamp according to one embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 34 is an exemplary plane cross-sectional view of FIG. 33 takenalong a line A-A′;

FIG. 35 is a perspective view schematically illustrating a circuit boardassembly composed of the bendable circuit sheet of the LED light stripand the printed circuit board of the power supply according to anotherembodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 36 is a perspective view schematically illustrating anotherarrangement of the circuit board assembly of FIG. 35;

FIG. 37 is a perspective view schematically illustrating an LED leadframe for the LED light sources of the LED tube lamp according to oneembodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 38 is a perspective view schematically illustrating a power supplyof the LED tube lamp according to one embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIG. 39 is a perspective view schematically illustrating the printedcircuit board of the power supply, which is perpendicularly adhered to ahard circuit board made of aluminum via soldering according to anotherembodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 40 is a perspective view illustrating a thermos-compression headused in soldering the bendable circuit sheet of the LED light strip andthe printed circuit board of the power supply according to oneembodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 41 is a plane view schematically illustrating the thicknessdifference between two solders on the pads of the bendable circuit sheetof the LED light strip or the printed circuit board of the power supplyaccording to one embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 42 is a perspective view schematically illustrating the solderingvehicle for soldering the bendable circuit sheet of the LED light stripand the printed circuit board of the power supply according to oneembodiment of the invention;

FIG. 43 is an exemplary plan view schematically illustrating a rotationstatus of the rotary platform of the soldering vehicle in FIG. 41;

FIG. 44 is a plan view schematically illustrating an external equipmentfor heating the hot melt adhesive according to another embodiment of thepresent invention;

FIG. 45 is a cross-sectional view schematically illustrating the hotmelt adhesive having uniformly distributed high permeability powderparticles with small particle size according to one embodiment of thepresent invention;

FIG. 46 is a cross-sectional view schematically illustrating the hotmelt adhesive having non-uniformly distributed high permeability powderparticles with small particle size according to another embodiment ofthe present invention, wherein the powder particles form a closedelectric loop;

FIG. 47 is a cross-sectional view schematically illustrating the hotmelt adhesive having non-uniformly distributed high permeability powderparticles with large particle size according to yet another embodimentof the present invention, wherein the powder particles form a closedelectric loop; and

FIG. 48 is a perspective view schematically illustrating the bendablecircuit sheet of the LED light strip is formed with two conductivewiring layers according to another embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The present disclosure provides a novel LED tube lamp. The presentdisclosure will now be described in the following embodiments withreference to the drawings. The following descriptions of variousembodiments of this invention are presented herein for purpose ofillustration and giving examples only. It is not intended to beexhaustive or to be limited to the precise form disclosed. These exampleembodiments are just that—examples—and many implementations andvariations are possible that do not require the details provided herein.It should also be emphasized that the disclosure provides details ofalternative examples, but such listing of alternatives is notexhaustive. Furthermore, any consistency of detail between variousexamples should not be interpreted as requiring such detail—it isimpracticable to list every possible variation for every featuredescribed herein. The language of the claims should be referenced indetermining the requirements of the invention.

In the drawings, the size and relative sizes of components may beexaggerated for clarity. Like numbers refer to like elements throughout.

The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particularembodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the invention. Asused herein, the singular forms “a”, “an” and “the” are intended toinclude the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicatesotherwise. As used herein, the term “and/or” includes any and allcombinations of one or more of the associated listed items and may beabbreviated as “/”.

It will be understood that, although the terms first, second, third etc.may be used herein to describe various elements, components, regions,layers, or steps, these elements, components, regions, layers, and/orsteps should not be limited by these terms. Unless the context indicatesotherwise, these terms are only used to distinguish one element,component, region, layer, or step from another element, component,region, or step, for example as a naming convention. Thus, a firstelement, component, region, layer, or step discussed below in onesection of the specification could be termed a second element,component, region, layer, or step in another section of thespecification or in the claims without departing from the teachings ofthe present invention. In addition, in certain cases, even if a term isnot described using “first,” “second,” etc., in the specification, itmay still be referred to as “first” or “second” in a claim in order todistinguish different claimed elements from each other.

It will be further understood that the terms “comprises” and/or“comprising,” or “includes” and/or “including” when used in thisspecification, specify the presence of stated features, regions,integers, steps, operations, elements, and/or components, but do notpreclude the presence or addition of one or more other features,regions, integers, steps, operations, elements, components, and/orgroups thereof.

It will be understood that when an element is referred to as being“connected” or “coupled” to or “on” another element, it can be directlyconnected or coupled to or on the other element or intervening elementsmay be present. In contrast, when an element is referred to as being“directly connected” or “directly coupled” to another element, there areno intervening elements present. Other words used to describe therelationship between elements should be interpreted in a like fashion(e.g., “between” versus “directly between,” “adjacent” versus “directlyadjacent,” etc.). However, the term “contact,” as used herein refers todirect contact (i.e., touching) unless the context indicates otherwise.

Embodiments described herein will be described referring to plan viewsand/or cross-sectional views by way of ideal schematic views.Accordingly, the exemplary views may be modified depending onmanufacturing technologies and/or tolerances. Therefore, the disclosedembodiments are not limited to those shown in the views, but includemodifications in configuration formed on the basis of manufacturingprocesses. Therefore, regions exemplified in figures may have schematicproperties, and shapes of regions shown in figures may exemplifyspecific shapes of regions of elements to which aspects of the inventionare not limited.

Spatially relative terms, such as “beneath,” “below,” “lower,” “above,”“upper” and the like, may be used herein for ease of description todescribe one element's or feature's relationship to another element(s)or feature(s) as illustrated in the figures. It will be understood thatthe spatially relative terms are intended to encompass differentorientations of the device in use or operation in addition to theorientation depicted in the figures. For example, if the device in thefigures is turned over, elements described as “below” or “beneath” otherelements or features would then be oriented “above” the other elementsor features. Thus, the term “below” can encompass both an orientation ofabove and below. The device may be otherwise oriented (rotated 90degrees or at other orientations) and the spatially relative descriptorsused herein interpreted accordingly.

Terms such as “same,” “equal,” “planar,” or “coplanar,” as used hereinwhen referring to orientation, layout, location, shapes, sizes, amounts,or other measures do not necessarily mean an exactly identicalorientation, layout, location, shape, size, amount, or other measure,but are intended to encompass nearly identical orientation, layout,location, shapes, sizes, amounts, or other measures within acceptablevariations that may occur, for example, due to manufacturing processes.The term “substantially” may be used herein to reflect this meaning.

Terms such as “about” or “approximately” may reflect sizes,orientations, or layouts that vary only in a small relative manner,and/or in a way that does not significantly alter the operation,functionality, or structure of certain elements. For example, a rangefrom “about 0.1 to about 1” may encompass a range such as a 0%-5%deviation around 0.1 and a 0% to 5% deviation around 1, especially ifsuch deviation maintains the same effect as the listed range.

Unless otherwise defined, all terms (including technical and scientificterms) used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by oneof ordinary skill in the art to which this disclosure belongs. It willbe further understood that terms, such as those defined in commonly useddictionaries, should be interpreted as having a meaning that isconsistent with their meaning in the context of the relevant art and/orthe present application, and will not be interpreted in an idealized oroverly formal sense unless expressly so defined herein.

As used herein, items described as being “electrically connected” areconfigured such that an electrical signal can be passed from one item tothe other. Therefore, a passive electrically conductive component (e.g.,a wire, pad, internal electrical line, etc.) physically connected to apassive electrically insulative component (e.g., a prepreg layer of aprinted circuit board, an electrically insulative adhesive connectingtwo devices, an electrically insulative underfill or mold layer, etc.)is not electrically connected to that component. Moreover, items thatare “directly electrically connected,” to each other are electricallyconnected through one or more passive elements, such as, for example,wires, pads, internal electrical lines, resistors, etc. As such,directly electrically connected components do not include componentselectrically connected through active elements, such as transistors ordiodes.

Components described as thermally connected or in thermal communicationare arranged such that heat will follow a path between the components toallow the heat to transfer from the first component to the secondcomponent. Simply because two components are part of the same device orboard does not make them thermally connected. In general, componentswhich are heat-conductive and directly connected to otherheat-conductive or heat-generating components (or connected to thosecomponents through intermediate heat-conductive components or in suchclose proximity as to permit a substantial transfer of heat) will bedescribed as thermally connected to those components, or in thermalcommunication with those components. On the contrary, two componentswith heat-insulative materials therebetween, which materialssignificantly prevent heat transfer between the two components, or onlyallow for incidental heat transfer, are not described as thermallyconnected or in thermal communication with each other. The terms“heat-conductive” or “thermally-conductive” do not apply to any materialthat provides incidental heat conduction, but are intended to refer tomaterials that are typically known as good heat conductors or known tohave utility for transferring heat, or components having similar heatconducting properties as those materials.

Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, an LED tube lamp of one embodiment of thepresent invention includes a lamp tube 1, an LED light strip 2 disposedinside the lamp tube 1, and two end caps 3 respectively disposed at twoends of the lamp tube 1. The lamp tube 1 may be made of plastic orglass. The sizes of the two end caps 3 may be same or different.Referring to FIG. 1A, the size of one end cap may in some embodiments beabout 30% to about 80% times the size of the other end cap.

In one embodiment, the lamp tube 1 is made of glass with strengthened ortempered structure to avoid being easily broken and incurring electricalshock occurred to conventional glass made tube lamps, and to avoid thefast aging process that often occurs in plastic made tube lamps. Theglass made lamp tube 1 may be additionally strengthened or tempered by achemical tempering method or a physical tempering method in variousembodiments of the present invention.

An exemplary chemical tempering method is accomplished by exchanging theNa ions or K ions on the glass surface with other alkali metal ions andtherefore changes composition of the glass surface. The sodium (Na) ionsor potassium (K) ions and other alkali metal ions on the glass surfaceare exchanged to form an ion exchange layer on the glass surface. Theglass is then under tension on the inside while under compression on theoutside when cooled to room temperature, so as to achieve the purpose ofincreased strength. The chemical tempering method includes but is notlimited to the following glass tempering methods: high temperature typeion exchange method, the low temperature type ion exchange method,dealkalization, surface crystallization, and/or sodium silicatestrengthening methods, further explained as follows.

An exemplary embodiment of the high temperature type ion exchange methodincludes the following steps: Inserting glass containing sodium oxide(Na₂O) or potassium oxide (K₂O) in the temperature range of thesoftening point and glass transition point into molten salt of lithium,so that the Na ions in the glass are exchanged for Li ions in the moltensalt. Later, the glass is then cooled to room temperature, since thesurface layer containing Li ions has a different expansion coefficientwith respect to the inner layer containing Na ions or K ions, thus thesurface produces residual stress and is reinforced. Meanwhile, the glasscontaining Al₂O₃, TiO₂ and other components, by performing ion exchange,can produce glass crystals having an extremely low coefficient ofexpansion. The crystallized glass surface after cooling produces asignificant amount of pressure, up to 700 MPa, which can enhance thestrength of glass.

An exemplary embodiment of the low-temperature ion exchange methodincludes the following steps: First, a monovalent cation (e.g., K ions)undergoes ion exchange with the alkali ions (e.g. Na ion) on the surfacelayer at a temperature range that is lower than the strain pointtemperature, so as to allow the K ions to penetrate the surface. Forexample, for manufacturing a Na₂O+CaO+SiO₂ system glass, the glass canbe impregnated for ten hours at more than four hundred degrees in themolten salt. The low temperature ion exchange method can easily obtainglass of higher strength, and the processing method is simple, does notdamage the transparent nature of the glass surface, and does not undergoshape distortion.

An exemplary embodiment of dealkalization includes treating glass usingplatinum (Pt) catalyst along with sulfurous acid gas and water in a hightemperature atmosphere. The Na⁺ ions are migrated out and bleed from theglass surface to be reacted with the Pt catalyst, so that the surfacelayer becomes a SiO₂ enriched layer, which results in a low expansionglass and produces compressive stress upon cooling.

The surface crystallization method and the high temperature type ionexchange method are different, but only the surface layer is treated byheat treatment to form low expansion coefficient microcrystals on theglass surface, thus reinforcing the glass.

An exemplary embodiment of the sodium silicate glass strengtheningmethod is a tempering method using sodium silicate (water glass) inwater solution at 100 degrees Celsius and several atmospheres ofpressure treatment, where a stronger/higher strength glass surface thatis harder to scratch is thereby produced.

An exemplary embodiment of the physical tempering method includes but isnot limited to applying a coating to or changing the structure of anobject such as to strengthen the easily broken position. The appliedcoating can be, for example, a ceramic coating, an acrylic coating, or aglass coating depending on the material used. The coating can beperformed in a liquid phase or gaseous phase.

The above glass tempering methods described including physical temperingmethods and chemical tempering methods can be accomplished singly orcombined together in any fashion.

Referring to FIG. 2 and FIG. 15, a glass made lamp tube of an LED tubelamp according to one embodiment of the present invention hasstructure-strengthened end regions described as follows. The glass madelamp tube 1 includes a main body region 102, two rear end regions 101(or just end regions 101) respectively formed at two ends of the mainbody region 102, and end caps 3 that respectively sleeve the rear endregions 101. The outer diameter of at least one of the rear end regions101 is less than the outer diameter of the main body region 102. In theembodiment of FIGS. 2 and 15, the outer diameters of the two rear endregions 101 are less than the outer diameter of the main body region102. In addition, the surface of the rear end region 101 is in parallelwith the surface of the main body region 102 in a cross-sectional view.Specifically, the glass made lamp tube 1 is strengthened at both ends,such that the rear end regions 101 are formed to be strengthenedstructures. In certain embodiments, the rear end regions 101 withstrengthened structure are respectively sleeved with the end caps 3, andthe outer diameters of the end caps 3 and the main body region 102 havelittle or no differences. For example, the end caps 3 may have the sameor substantially the same outer diameters as that of the main bodyregion 102 such that there is no gap between the end caps 3 and the mainbody region 102. In this way, a supporting seat in a packing box fortransportation of the LED tube lamp contacts not only the end caps 3 butalso the lamp tube 1 and makes uniform the loadings on the entire LEDtube lamp to avoid situations where only the end caps 3 are forced,therefore preventing breakage at the connecting portion between the endcaps 3 and the rear end regions 101 due to stress concentration. Thequality and the appearance of the product are therefore improved.

In one embodiment, the end caps 3 and the main body region 102 havesubstantially the same outer diameters. These diameters may have atolerance for example within +/−0.2 millimeter (mm), or in some cases upto +/−1.0 millimeter (mm). Depending on the thickness of the end caps 3,the difference between an outer diameter of the rear end regions 101 andan outer diameter of the main body region 102 can be about 1 mm to about10 mm for typical product applications. In some embodiments, thedifference between the outer diameter of the rear end regions 101 andthe outer diameter of the main body region 102 can be about 2 mm toabout 7 mm.

Referring to FIG. 15, the lamp tube 1 is further formed with atransition region 103 between the main body region 102 and the rear endregions 101. In one embodiment, the transition region 103 is a curvedregion formed to have cambers at two ends to smoothly connect the mainbody region 102 and the rear end regions 101, respectively. For example,the two ends of the transition region 103 may be arc-shaped in across-section view along the axial direction of the lamp tube 1.Furthermore, one of the cambers connects the main body region 102 whilethe other one of the cambers connects the rear end region 101. In someembodiments, the arc angle of the cambers is greater than 90 degreeswhile the outer surface of the rear end region 101 is a continuoussurface in parallel with the outer surface of the main body region 102when viewed from the cross-section along the axial direction of the lamptube. In other embodiments, the transition region 103 can be withoutcurve or arc in shape. In certain embodiments, the length of thetransition region 103 along the axial direction of the lamp tube 1 isbetween about 1 mm to about 4 mm. Upon experimentation, it was foundthat when the length of the transition region 103 along the axialdirection of the lamp tube 1 is less than 1 mm, the strength of thetransition region would be insufficient; when the length of thetransition region 103 along the axial direction of the lamp tube 1 ismore than 4 mm, the main body region 102 would be shorter and thedesired illumination surface would be reduced, and the end caps 3 wouldbe longer and the more materials for the end caps 3 would be needed.

Referring to FIG. 5 and FIG. 16, in certain embodiments, the lamp tube 1is made of glass, and has a rear end region 101, a main body region 102,and a transition region 103. The transition region 103 has twoarc-shaped cambers at both ends to from an S shape; one camberpositioned near the main body region 102 is convex outwardly, while theother camber positioned near the rear end region 101 is concavedinwardly. Generally speaking, the radius of curvature, R1, of thecamber/arc between the transition region 103 and the main body region102 is smaller than the radius of curvature, R2, of the camber/arcbetween the transition region 103 and the rear end region 101. The ratioR1:R2 may range, for example, from about 1:1.5 to about 1:10, and insome embodiments is more effective from about 1:2.5 to about 1:5, and insome embodiments is even more effective from about 1:3 to about 1:4. Inthis way, the camber/arc of the transition region 103 positioned nearthe rear end region 101 is in compression at outer surfaces and intension at inner surfaces, and the camber/arc of the transition region103 positioned near the main body region 102 is in tension at outersurfaces and in compression at inner surfaces. Therefore, the goal ofstrengthening the transition region 103 of the lamp tube 1 is achieved.

Taking the standard specification for T8 lamp as an example, the outerdiameter of the rear end region 101 is configured between 20.9 mm to 23mm. An outer diameter of the rear end region 101 being less than 20.9 mmwould be too small to fittingly insert the power supply into the lamptube 1. The outer diameter of the main body region 102 is in someembodiments configured to be between about 25 mm to about 28 mm. Anouter diameter of the main body region 102 being less than 25 mm wouldbe inconvenient to strengthen the ends of the main body region 102 asfar as the current manufacturing skills are concerned, while an outerdiameter of the main body region 102 being greater than 28 mm is notcompliant to the industrial standard.

Referring to FIGS. 3 and 4, in one embodiment of the invention, each endcap 3 includes an electrically insulating tube 302, a thermal conductivemember 303 sleeving over the electrically insulating tube 302, and twohollow conductive pins 301 disposed on the electrically insulating tube302. The thermal conductive member 303 can be a metal ring that istubular in shape.

Referring FIG. 5, in one embodiment, one end of the thermal conductivemember 303 extends away from the electrically insulating tube 302 of theend cap 3 and towards one end of the lamp tube 1, and is bonded andadhered to the end of the lamp tube 1 using a hot melt adhesive 6. Inthis way, the end cap 3 by way of the thermal conductive member 303extends to the transition region 103 of the lamp tube 1. In oneembodiment, the thermal conductive member 303 and the transition region103 are closely connected such that the hot melt adhesive 6 would notoverflow out of the end cap 3 and remain on the main body region 102when using the hot melt adhesive 6 to join the thermal conductive member303 and the lamp tube 1. In addition, the electrically insulating tube302 facing toward the lamp tube 1 does not have an end extending to thetransition region 103, and that there is a gap between the electricallyinsulating tube 302 and the transition region 103. In one embodiment,the electrically insulating tube 302 is not limited to being made ofplastic or ceramic, any material that is not a good electrical conductorcan be used.

The hot melt adhesive 6 is a composite including a so-called commonlyknown as “welding mud powder”, and in some embodiments includes one ormore of phenolic resin 2127#, shellac, rosin, calcium carbonate powder,zinc oxide, and ethanol. Rosin is a thickening agent with a feature ofbeing dissolved in ethanol but not dissolved in water. In oneembodiment, a hot melt adhesive 6 having rosin could be expanded tochange its physical status to become solidified when being heated tohigh temperature in addition to the intrinsic viscosity. Therefore, theend cap 3 and the lamp tube 1 can be adhered closely by using the hotmelt adhesive to accomplish automatic manufacture for the LED tubelamps. In one embodiment, the hot melt adhesive 6 may be expansive andflowing and finally solidified after cooling. In this embodiment, thevolume of the hot melt adhesive 6 expands to about 1.3 times theoriginal size when heated from room temperature to about 200 to 250degrees Celsius. The hot melt adhesive 6 is not limited to the materialsrecited herein. Alternatively, a material for the hot melt adhesive 6 tobe solidified immediately when heated to a predetermined temperature canbe used. The hot melt adhesive 6 provided in each embodiments of thepresent invention is durable with respect to high temperature inside theend caps 3 due to the heat resulted from the power supply. Therefore,the lamp tube 1 and the end caps 3 could be secured to each otherwithout decreasing the reliability of the LED tube lamp.

Furthermore, there is formed an accommodation space between the innersurface of the thermal conductive member 303 and the outer surface ofthe lamp tube 1 to accommodate the hot melt adhesive 6, as indicated bythe dotted line B in FIG. 5. For example, the hot melt adhesive 6 can befilled into the accommodation space at a location where a firsthypothetical plane (as indicated by the dotted line B in FIG. 5) beingperpendicular to the axial direction of the lamp tube 1 would passthrough the thermal conductive member, the hot melt adhesive 6, and theouter surface of the lamp tube 1. The hot melt adhesive 6 may have athickness, for example, of about 0.2 mm to about 0.5 mm. In oneembodiment, the hot melt adhesive 6 will be expansive to solidify in andconnect with the lamp tube 1 and the end cap 3 to secure both. Thetransition region 103 brings a height difference between the rear endregion 101 and the main body region 102 to avoid the hot melt adhesives6 being overflowed onto the main body region 102, and thereby savesmanpower to remove the overflowed adhesive and increase the LED tubelamp productivity. The hot melt adhesive 6 is heated by receiving heatfrom the thermal conductive member 303 to which an electricity from anexternal heating equipment is applied, and then expands and finallysolidifies after cooling, such that the end caps 3 are adhered to thelamp tube 1.

Referring to FIG. 5, in one embodiment, the electrically insulating tube302 of the end cap 3 includes a first tubular part 302 a and a secondtubular part 302 b connected along an axial direction of the lamp tube1. The outer diameter of the second tubular part 302 b is less than theouter diameter of the first tubular part 302 a. In some embodiments, theouter diameter difference between the first tubular part 302 a and thesecond tubular part 302 b is between about 0.15 mm and about 0.30 mm.The thermal conductive member 303 sleeves over the outer circumferentialsurface of the second tubular part 302 b. The outer surface of thethermal conductive member 303 is coplanar or substantially flush withrespect to the outer circumferential surface of the first tubular part302 a. For example, the thermal conductive member 303 and the firsttubular part 302 a have substantially uniform exterior diameters fromend to end. As a result, the entire end cap 3 and thus the entire LEDtube lamp may be smooth with respect to the outer appearance and mayhave a substantially uniform tubular outer surface, such that theloading during transportation on the entire LED tube lamp is alsouniform. In one embodiment, a ratio of the length of the thermalconductive member 303 along the axial direction of the end cap 3 to theaxial length of the electrically insulating tube 302 ranges from about1:2.5 to about 1:5.

In one embodiment, for sake of secure adhesion between the end cap 3 andthe lamp tube 1, the second tubular part 302 b is at least partiallydisposed around the lamp tube 1, and the accommodation space furtherincludes a space encompassed by the inner surface of the second tubularpart 302 b and the outer surface of the rear end region 101 of the lamptube 1. The hot melt adhesive 6 is at least partially filled in anoverlapped region (shown by a dotted line “A” in FIG. 5) between theinner surface of the second tubular part 302 b and the outer surface ofthe rear end region 101 of the lamp tube 1. For example, the hot meltadhesive 6 may be filled into the accommodation space at a locationwhere a second hypothetical plane (shown by the dotted line A in FIG. 5)being perpendicular to the axial direction of the lamp tube 1 would passthrough the thermal conductive member 303, the second tubular part 302b, the hot melt adhesive 6, and the rear end region 101.

The hot melt adhesive 6 is not required to completely fill the entireaccommodation space as shown in FIG. 5, especially where a gap isreserved or formed between the thermal conductive member 303 and thesecond tubular part 302 b. For example, in some embodiments, the hotmelt adhesive 6 can be only partially filled into the accommodationspace. During manufacturing of the LED tube lamp, the amount of the hotmelt adhesive 6 coated and applied between the thermal conductive member303 and the rear end region 101 may be appropriately increased, suchthat in the subsequent heating process, the hot melt adhesive 6 can becaused to expand and flow in between the second tubular part 302 b andthe rear end region 101, and thereby solidify after cooling to join thesecond tubular part 302 b and the rear end region 101.

During fabrication of the LED tube lamp, the rear end region 101 of thelamp tube 1 is inserted into one of the end caps 3. In some embodiments,the axial length of the inserted portion of the rear end region 101 ofthe lamp tube 1 accounts for approximately one-third (⅓) to two-thirds(⅔) of the total axial length of the thermal conductive member 303. Onebenefit is that, there will be sufficient creepage distance between thehollow conductive pins 301 and the thermal conductive member 303, andthus it is not easy to form a short circuit leading to dangerouselectric shock to individuals. On the other hand, the creepage distancebetween the hollow conductive pin 301 and the thermal conductive member303 is increased due to the electrically insulating effect of theelectrically insulating tube 302, and thus a high voltage test is morelikely to pass without causing electrical shocks to people.

Furthermore, the presence of the second tubular part 302 b interposedbetween the hot melt adhesive 6 and the thermal conductive member 303may reduce the heat from the thermal conductive member 303 to the hotmelt adhesive 6. To help prevent or minimize this problem, referring toFIG. 4 in one embodiment, the end of the second tubular part 302 bfacing the lamp tube 1 (i.e., away from the first tubular part 302 a) iscircumferentially provided with a plurality of notches 302 c. Thesenotches 302 c help to increase the contact areas between the thermalconductive member 303 and the hot melt adhesive 6 and therefore providerapid heat conduction from the thermal conductive member 303 to the hotmelt adhesive 6 so as to accelerate the solidification of the hot meltadhesive 6. Moreover, the hot melt adhesive 6 electrically insulates thethermal conductive member 303 and the lamp tube 1 so that a user wouldnot be electrically shocked when he touches the thermal conductivemember 303 connected to a broken lamp tube 1.

The thermal conductive member 303 can be made of various heat conductingmaterials. The thermal conductive member 303 can be a metal sheet suchas an aluminum alloy. The thermal conductive member 303 sleeves thesecond tubular part 302 b and can be tubular or ring-shaped. Theelectrically insulating tube 302 may be made of electrically insulatingmaterial, but in some embodiments have low thermal conductivity so as toprevent the heat from reaching the power supply module located insidethe end cap 3 and therefore negatively affecting performance of thepower supply module. In one embodiment, the electrically insulating tube302 is a plastic tube.

Alternatively, the thermal conductive member 303 may be formed by aplurality of metal plates circumferentially arranged on the tubular part302 b with either an equidistant space or a non-equidistant space.

The end cap 3 may be designed to have other kinds of structures orinclude other elements. Referring to FIG. 6, the end cap 3 according toanother embodiment further includes a magnetic metal member 9 within theelectrically insulating tube 302 but excludes the thermal conductivemember 3. The magnetic metal member 9 is fixedly arranged on the innercircumferential surface of the electrically insulating tube 302 andtherefore interposed between the electrically insulating tube 302 andthe lamp tube 1 such that the magnetic metal member 9 is partiallyoverlapped with the lamp tube 1 in the radial direction. In thisembodiment, the whole magnetic metal member 9 is inside the electricallyinsulating tube 302, and the hot melt adhesive 6 is coated on the innersurface of the magnetic metal member 9 (the surface of the magneticmetal tube member 9 facing the lamp tube 1) and adhered to the outerperipheral surface of the lamp tube 1. In some embodiments, the hot meltadhesive 6 covers the entire inner surface of the magnetic metal member9 in order to increase the adhesion area and to improve the stability ofthe adhesion.

Referring to FIG. 7, when manufacturing the LED tube lamp of thisembodiment, the electrically insulating tube 302 is inserted in anexternal heating equipment which is in some embodiments an inductioncoil 11, so that the induction coil 11 and the magnetic metal member 9are disposed opposite (or adjacent) to one another along the radiallyextending direction of the electrically insulating tube 302. Theinduction coil 11 is energized and forms an electromagnetic field, andthe electromagnetic field induces the magnetic metal member 9 to createan electrical current and become heated. The heat from the magneticmetal member 9 is transferred to the hot melt adhesive 6 to make the hotmelt adhesive 6 expansive and flowing and then solidified after cooling,and the bonding for the end cap 3 and the lamp tube 1 can beaccomplished. The induction coil 11 may be made, for example, of redcopper and composed of metal wires having width of, for example, about 5mm to about 6 mm to be a circular coil with a diameter, for example, ofabout 30 mm to about 35 mm, which is a bit greater than the outerdiameter of the end cap 3. Since the end cap 3 and the lamp tube 1 mayhave the same outer diameters, the outer diameter may change dependingon the outer diameter of the lamp tube 1, and therefore the diameter ofthe induction coil 11 used can be changed depending on the type of thelamp tube 1 used. As examples, the outer diameters of the lamp tube forT12, T10, T8, T5, T4, and T2 are 38.1 mm, 31.8 mm, 25.4 mm, 16 mm, 12.7mm, and 6.4 mm, respectively.

Furthermore, the induction coil 11 may be provided with a poweramplifying unit to increase the alternating current power to about 1 to2 times the original. In some embodiments, it is better that theinduction coil 11 and the electrically insulating tube 302 are coaxiallyaligned to make energy transfer more uniform. In some embodiments, adeviation value between the axes of the induction coil 11 and theelectrically insulating tube 302 is not greater than about 0.05 mm. Whenthe bonding process is complete, the end cap 3 and the lamp tube 1 aremoved away from the induction coil. Then, the hot melt adhesive 6absorbs the energy to be expansive and flowing and solidified aftercooling. In one embodiment, the magnetic metal member 9 can be heated toa temperature of about 250 to about 300 degrees Celsius; the hot meltadhesive 6 can be heated to a temperature of about 200 to about 250degrees Celsius. The material of the hot melt adhesive is not limitedhere, and a material of allowing the hot melt adhesive to immediatelysolidify when absorb heat energy can also be used.

In one embodiment, the induction coil 11 may be fixed in position toallow the end cap 3 and the lamp tube 1 to be moved into the inductioncoil 11 such that the hot melt adhesive 6 is heated to expand and flowand then solidify after cooling when the end cap 3 is again moved awayfrom the induction coil 11. Alternatively, the end cap 3 and the lamptube 1 may be fixed in position to allow the induction coil 11 to bemoved to encompass the end cap 3 such that the hot melt adhesive 6 isheated to expand and flow and then solidify after cooling when theinduction coil 11 is again moved away from the end cap 3. In oneembodiment, the external heating equipment for heating the magneticmetal member 9 is provided with a plurality of devices the same as theinduction coils 11, and the external heating equipment moves relative tothe end cap 3 and the lamp tube 1 during the heating process. In thisway, the external heating equipment moves away from the end cap 3 whenthe heating process is completed. However, the length of the lamp tube 1is far greater than the length of the end cap 3 and may be up to above240 cm in some special appliances, and this may cause bad connectionbetween the end cap 3 and the lamp tube 1 during the process that thelamp tube 1 accompany with the end cap 3 to relatively enter or leavethe induction coil 11 in the back and for the direction as mentionedabove when a position error exists.

Referring to FIG. 44, an external heating equipment 110 having aplurality sets of upper and lower semicircular fixtures 11 a is providedto achieve same heating effect as that brought by the induction coils11. In this way, the above-mentioned damage risk due to the relativemovement in back-and-forth direction can be reduced. The upper and lowersemicircular fixtures 11 a each has a semicircular coil made by windinga metal wire of, for example, about 5 mm to about 6 mm wide. Thecombination of the upper and lower semicircular fixtures form a ringwith a diameter, for example, of about 30 mm to about 35 mm, and theinside semicircular coils form a closed loop to become the inductioncoil 11 as mentioned. In this embodiment, the end cap 3 and the lamptube 1 do not relatively move in the back-and-forth manner, but rollinto the notch of the lower semicircular fixture. Specifically, an endcap 3 accompanied with a lamp tube 1 initially roll on a productionline, and then the end cap 3 rolls into the notch of a lowersemicircular fixture, and then the upper and the lower semicircularfixtures are combined to form a closed loop, and the fixtures aredetached when heating is completed. This method reduces the need forhigh position precision and yield problems in production.

Referring to FIG. 6, the electrically insulating tube 302 is furtherdivided into two parts, namely a first tubular part 302 d and a secondtubular part 302 e, i.e. the remaining part. In order to provide bettersupport of the magnetic metal member 9, an inner diameter of the firsttubular part 302 d for supporting the magnetic metal member 9 is largerthan the inner diameter of the second tubular part 302 e which does nothave the magnetic metal member 9, and a stepped structure is formed atthe connection of the first tubular part 302 d and the second tubularpart 302 e. In this way, an end of the magnetic metal member 9 as viewedin an axial direction is abutted against the stepped structure such thatthe entire inner surface of the end cap is smooth and plain.Additionally, the magnetic metal member 9 may be of various shapes,e.g., a sheet-like or tubular-like structure being circumferentiallyarranged or the like, where the magnetic metal member 9 is coaxiallyarranged with the electrically insulating tube 302.

Referring to FIGS. 8 and 9, the electrically insulating tube may befurther formed with a supporting portion 313 on the inner surface of theelectrically insulating tube 302 to be extending inwardly such that themagnetic metal member 9 is axially abutted against the upper edge of thesupporting portion 313. In some embodiments, the thickness of thesupporting portion 313 along the radial direction of the electricallyinsulating tube 302 is between 1 mm to 2 mm. The electrically insulatingtube 302 may be further formed with a protruding portion 310 on theinner surface of the electrically insulating tube 302 to be extendinginwardly such that the magnetic metal member 9 is radially abuttedagainst the side edge of the protruding portion 310 and that the outersurface of the magnetic metal member 9 and the inner surface of theelectrically insulating tube 302 is spaced apart with a gap. Thethickness of the protruding portion 310 along the radial direction ofthe electrically insulating tube 302 is less than the thickness of thesupporting portion 313 along the radial direction of the electricallyinsulating tube 302 and in some embodiments be 0.2 mm to 1 mm in anembodiment.

Referring to FIG. 9, the protruding portion 310 and the supportingportion are connected along the axial direction, and the magnetic metalmember 9 is axially abutted against the upper edge of the supportingportion 313 while radially abutted against the side edge of theprotruding portion 310 such that at least part of the protruding portion310 intervenes between the magnetic metal member 9 and the electricallyinsulating tube 302. The protruding portion 310 may be arranged alongthe circumferential direction of the electrically insulating tube 302 tohave a circular configuration. Alternatively, the protruding portion 310may be in the form of a plurality of bumps arranged on the inner surfaceof the electrically insulating tube 302. The bumps may be equidistantlyor non-equidistantly arranged along the inner circumferential surface ofthe electrically insulating tube 302 as long as the outer surface of themagnetic metal member 9 and the inner surface of the electricallyinsulating tube 302 are in a minimum contact and simultaneously hold thehot melt adhesive 6. In other embodiments, an entirely metal made endcap 3 could be used with an insulator disposed under the hollowconductive pin to endure the high voltage.

Referring to FIG. 10, in one embodiment, the magnetic metal member 9 canhave one or more openings 91 that are circular. However, the openings 91may instead be, for example, oval, square, star shaped, etc., as long asthe contact area between the magnetic metal member 9 and the innerperipheral surface of the electrically insulating tube 302 can bereduced and the function of the magnetic metal member 9 to heat the hotmelt adhesive 6 can be performed. In some embodiments, the openings 91occupy about 10% to about 50% of the surface area of the magnetic metalmember 9. The opening 91 can be arranged circumferentially on themagnetic metal member 9 in an equidistantly spaced or non-equidistantlyspaced manner.

Referring to FIG. 11, in other embodiments, the magnetic metal member 9has an indentation/embossment 93 on surface facing the electricallyinsulating tube 302. The embossment is raised from the inner surface ofthe magnetic metal member 9, while the indentation is depressed underthe inner surface of the magnetic metal member 9. Theindentation/embossment reduces the contact area between the innerperipheral surface of the electrically insulating tube 302 and the outersurface of the magnetic metal member 9 while maintaining the function ofmelting and curing the hot melt adhesive 6. In sum, the surface of themagnetic metal member 9 can be configured to have openings,indentations, or embossments or any combination thereof to achieve thegoal of reducing the contact area between the inner peripheral surfaceof the electrically insulating tube 302 and the outer surface of themagnetic metal member 9. At the same time, the firm adhesion between themagnetic metal member 9 and the lamp tube 1 should be secured toaccomplish the heating and solidification of the hot melt adhesive 6.

Referring to FIG. 12, in one embodiment, the magnetic metal member 9 isa circular ring. Referring to FIG. 13, in another embodiment, themagnetic metal member 9 is a non-circular ring such as but not limitedto an oval ring. When the magnetic metal member 9 is an oval ring, theminor axis of the oval ring is slightly larger than the outer diameterof the end region of the lamp tube 1 such that the contact area of theinner peripheral surface of the electrically insulating tube 302 and theouter surface of the magnetic metal member 9 is reduced and the functionof melting and curing the hot melt adhesive 6 still performs properly.For example, the inner surface of the electrically insulating tube 302may be formed with supporting portion 313 and the magnetic metal member9 in a non-circular ring shape is seated on the supporting portion 313.Thus, the contact area of the outer surface of the magnetic metal member9 and the inner surface of the electrically insulating tube 302 could bereduced while that the function of solidifying the hot melt adhesive 6could be performed. In other embodiments, the magnetic metal member 9can be disposed on the outer surface of the end cap 3 to replace thethermal conductive member 303 as shown in FIG. 5 and to perform thefunction of heating and solidifying the hot melt adhesive 6 viaelectromagnetic induction.

Referring to FIGS. 45 to 47, in other embodiments, the magnetic metalmember 9 may be omitted. Instead, in some embodiments, the hot meltadhesive 6 has a predetermined proportion of high permeability powders65 having relative permeability ranging, for example, from about 10² toabout 10⁶. The powders can be used to replace the calcite powdersoriginally included in the hot melt adhesive 6, and in certainembodiments, a volume ratio of the high permeability powders 65 to thecalcite powders may be about 1:3˜1:1. In some embodiments, the materialof the high permeability powders 65 is one of iron, nickel, cobalt,alloy thereof, or any combination thereof; the weight percentage of thehigh permeability powders 65 with respect to the hot melt adhesive isabout 10% to about 50%; and/or the powders may have mean particle sizeof about 1 to about 30 micrometers. Such a hot melt adhesive 6 allowsthe end cap 3 and the lamp tube 1 to adhere together and be qualified ina destruction test, a torque test, and a bending test. Generallyspeaking, the bending test standard for the end cap of the LED tube lampis greater than 5 newton-meters (Nt-m), while the torque test standardis greater than 1.5 newton-meters (Nt-m). In one embodiment, upon theratio of the high permeability powders 65 to the hot melt adhesive 6 andthe magnetic flux applied, the end cap 3 and the end of the lamp tube 1secured by using the hot melt adhesive 6 are qualified in a torque testof 1.5 to 5 newton-meters (Nt-m) and a bending test of 5 to 10newton-meters (Nt-m). The induction coil 11 is first switched on andallow the high permeability powders uniformly distributed in the hotmelt adhesive 6 to be charged, and therefore allow the hot melt adhesive6 to be heated to be expansive and flowing and then solidified aftercooling. Thereby, the goal of adhering the end cap 3 onto the lamp tube1 is achieved.

Referring to FIGS. 45 to 47, the high permeability powders 65 may havedifferent distribution manners in the hot melt adhesive 6. As shown inFIG. 45, the high permeability powders 65 have mean particle size ofabout 1 to about 5 micrometers, and are distributed uniformly in the hotmelt adhesive 6. When such a hot melt adhesive 6 is coated on the innersurface of the end cap 3, though the high permeability powders 65 cannotform a closed loop due to the uniform distribution, they can still beheated due to magnetic hysteresis in the electromagnetic field, so as toheat the hot melt adhesive 6. As shown in FIG. 46, the high permeabilitypowders 65 have mean particle size of about 1 to about 5 micrometers,and are distributed randomly in the hot melt adhesive 6. When such a hotmelt adhesive 6 is coated on the inner surface of the end cap 3, thehigh permeability powders 65 form a closed loop due to the randomdistribution; they can be heated due to magnetic hysteresis or theclosed loop in the electromagnetic field, so as to heat the hot meltadhesive 6. As shown in FIG. 47, the high permeability powders 65 havemean particle size of about 5 to about 30 micrometers, and aredistributed randomly in the hot melt adhesive 6. When such a hot meltadhesive 6 is coated on the inner surface of the end cap 3, the highpermeability powders 65 form a closed loop due to the randomdistribution; they can be heated due to magnetic hysteresis or theclosed loop in the electromagnetic field, so as to heat the hot meltadhesive 6. Accordingly, depending on the adjustment of the particlesize, the distribution density and the distribution manner of the highpermeability powders 65, and the electromagnetic flux applied to the endcap 3, the heating temperature of the hot melt adhesive 6 can becontrolled. In one embodiment, the hot melt adhesive 6 is flowing andsolidified after cooling from a temperature of about 200 to about 250degrees Celsius. In another embodiment, the hot melt adhesive 6 isimmediately solidified at a temperature of about 200 to about 250degrees Celsius.

Referring to FIGS. 14 and 39, in one embodiment, an end cap 3′ has apillar 312 at one end, the top end of the pillar 312 is provided with anopening having a groove 314 of, for example 0.1±1% mm depth at theperiphery thereof for positioning a conductive lead 53 as shown in FIG.39. The conductive lead 53 passes through the opening on top of thepillar 312 and has its end bent to be disposed in the groove 314. Afterthat, a conductive metallic cap 311 covers the pillar 312 such that theconductive lead 53 is fixed between the pillar 312 and the conductivemetallic cap 311. In some embodiments, the inner diameter of theconductive metallic cap 311 is 7.56±5% mm, the outer diameter of thepillar 312 is 7.23±5% mm, and the outer diameter of the conductive lead53 is 0.5±1% mm. Nevertheless, the mentioned sizes are not limited hereonce that the conductive metallic cap 311 closely covers the pillar 312without using extra adhesives and therefore completes the electricalconnection between the power supply 5 and the conductive metallic cap311.

Referring to FIGS. 2, 3, 12, and 13, in one embodiment, the end cap 3may have openings 304 to dissipate heat generated by the power supplymodules inside the end cap 3 so as to prevent a high temperaturecondition inside the end cap 3 that might reduce reliability. In someembodiments, the openings are in a shape of an arc; especially in ashape of three arcs with different size. In one embodiment, the openingsare in a shape of three arcs with gradually varying size. The openingson the end cap 3 can be in any one of the above-mentioned shape or anycombination thereof.

In other embodiments, the end cap 3 is provided with a socket (notshown) for installing the power supply module.

Referring to FIG. 17, in one embodiment, the lamp tube 1 further has adiffusion film 13 coated and bonded to the inner surface thereof so thatthe light outputted or emitted from the LED light sources 202 isdiffused by the diffusion film 13 and then pass through the lamp tube 1.The diffusion film 13 can be in form of various types, such as a coatingonto the inner surface or outer wall of the lamp tube 1, or a diffusioncoating layer (not shown) coated at the surface of each LED light source202, or a separate membrane covering the LED light source 202.

Referring again to FIG. 17, in one embodiment, when the diffusion film13 is in the form of a sheet, it covers but is not in contact with theLED light sources 202. The diffusion film 13 in the form of a sheet isusually called an optical diffusion sheet or board, usually a compositemade of mixing diffusion particles into polystyrene (PS), polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA), polyethylene terephthalate (PET), and/orpolycarbonate (PC), and/or any combination thereof. The light passingthrough such composite is diffused to expand in a wide range of spacesuch as a light emitted from a plane source, and therefore makes thebrightness of the LED tube lamp uniform.

In alternative embodiments, the diffusion film 13 is in form of anoptical diffusion coating, which is composed of any one of calciumcarbonate, halogen calcium phosphate and aluminum oxide, or anycombination thereof. When the optical diffusion coating is made from acalcium carbonate with suitable solution, an excellent light diffusioneffect and transmittance to exceed 90% can be obtained. Furthermore, thediffusion film 13 in form of an optical diffusion coating may be appliedto an outer surface of the rear end region 101 having the hot meltadhesive 6 to produce increased friction resistance between the end cap3 and the rear end region 101. Compared with an example without anyoptical diffusion coating, the rear end region 101 having the diffusionfilm 13 is beneficial, for example for preventing accidental detachmentof the end cap 3 from the lamp tube 1.

In one embodiment, the composition of the diffusion film 13 in form ofthe optical diffusion coating includes calcium carbonate, strontiumphosphate (e.g., CMS-5000, white powder), thickener, and a ceramicactivated carbon (e.g., ceramic activated carbon SW—C, which is acolorless liquid). Specifically, in one example, such an opticaldiffusion coating on the inner circumferential surface of the glass tubehas an average thickness ranging between about 20 and about 30 μm. Alight transmittance of the diffusion film 13 using this opticaldiffusion coating is about 90%. Generally speaking, the lighttransmittance of the diffusion film 13 ranges from 85% to 96%. Inaddition, this diffusion film 13 can also provide electrical isolationfor reducing risk of electric shock to a user upon breakage of the lamptube 1. Furthermore, the diffusion film 13 provides an improvedillumination distribution uniformity of the light outputted by the LEDlight sources 202 such that the light can illuminate the back of thelight sources 202 and the side edges of the bendable circuit sheet so asto avoid the formation of dark regions inside the lamp tube 1 andimprove the illumination comfort. In another possible embodiment, thelight transmittance of the diffusion film can be 92% to 94% while thethickness ranges from about 200 to about 300 μm.

In another embodiment, the optical diffusion coating can also be made ofa mixture including a calcium carbonate-based substance, some reflectivesubstances like strontium phosphate or barium sulfate, a thickeningagent, ceramic activated carbon, and deionized water. The mixture iscoated on the inner circumferential surface of the glass tube and has anaverage thickness ranging between about 20 and about 30 μm. In view ofthe diffusion phenomena in microscopic terms, light is reflected byparticles. The particle size of the reflective substance such asstrontium phosphate or barium sulfate will be much larger than theparticle size of the calcium carbonate. Therefore, adding a small amountof reflective substance in the optical diffusion coating can effectivelyincrease the diffusion effect of light.

In other embodiments, halogen calcium phosphate or aluminum oxide canalso serve as the main material for forming the diffusion film 13. Theparticle size of the calcium carbonate is, for example, about 2 to 4 μm,while the particle size of the halogen calcium phosphate and aluminumoxide are about 4 to 6 μm and 1 to 2 μm, respectively. When the lighttransmittance is required to be 85% to 92%, the average thickness forthe optical diffusion coating mainly having the calcium carbonate may beabout 20 to about 30 μm, while the average thickness for the opticaldiffusion coating mainly having the halogen calcium phosphate may beabout 25 to about 35 μm, and/or the average thickness for the opticaldiffusion coating mainly having the aluminum oxide may be about 10 toabout 15 μm. However, when the required light transmittance is up to 92%and even higher, the optical diffusion coating mainly having the calciumcarbonate, the halogen calcium phosphate, or the aluminum oxide shouldbe even thinner.

The main material and the corresponding thickness of the opticaldiffusion coating can be decided according to the place for which thelamp tube 1 is used and the light transmittance required. It is notedthat the higher the light transmittance of the diffusion film isrequired, the more apparent the grainy visual of the light sources is.

Referring to FIG. 17, the inner circumferential surface of the lamp tube1 may also be provided or bonded with a reflective film 12. Thereflective film 12 is provided around the LED light sources 202, andoccupies a portion of an area of the inner circumferential surface ofthe lamp tube 1 arranged along the circumferential direction thereof. Asshown in FIG. 17, the reflective film 12 is disposed at two sides of theLED light strip 2 extending along a circumferential direction of thelamp tube 1. The LED light strip 2 is basically in a middle position ofthe lamp tube 1 and between the two reflective films 12. The reflectivefilm 12, when viewed by a person looking at the lamp tube from the side(in the X-direction shown in FIG. 17), serves to block the LED lightsources 202, so that the person does not directly see the LED lightsources 202, thereby reducing the visual graininess effect. On the otherhand, that the lights emitted from the LED light sources 202 arereflected by the reflective film 12 facilitates the divergence anglecontrol of the LED tube lamp, so that more lights illuminate towarddirections without the reflective film 12, such that the LED tube lamphas higher energy efficiency when providing the same level ofillumination performance.

Specifically, the reflection film 12 is provided on the inner peripheralsurface of the lamp tube 1, and has an opening 12 a configured toaccommodate the LED light strip 2. The size of the opening 12 a is thesame or slightly larger than the size of the LED light strip 2. Duringassembly, the LED light sources 202 are mounted on the LED light strip 2(a bendable circuit sheet) provided on the inner surface of the lamptube 1, and then the reflective film 12 is adhered to the inner surfaceof the lamp tube 1, so that the opening 12 a of the reflective film 12correspondingly matches the LED light strip 2 in a one-to-onerelationship, and the LED light strip 2 is exposed to the outside of thereflective film 12.

In one embodiment, the reflectance of the reflective film 12 isgenerally at least greater than 85%, in some embodiments greater than90%, and in some embodiments greater than 95%, to be most effective. Inone embodiment, the reflective film 12 extends circumferentially alongthe length of the lamp tube 1 occupying about 30% to 50% of the innersurface area of the lamp tube 1. In other words, a ratio of acircumferential length of the reflective film 12 along the innercircumferential surface of the lamp tube 1 to a circumferential lengthof the lamp tube 1 is about 0.3 to 0.5. In the illustrated embodiment ofFIG. 17, the reflective film 12 is disposed substantially in the middlealong a circumferential direction of the lamp tube 1, so that the twodistinct portions or sections of the reflective film 12 disposed on thetwo sides of the LED light strip 2 are substantially equal in area. Thereflective film 12 may be made of PET with some reflective materialssuch as strontium phosphate or barium sulfate or any combinationthereof, with a thickness between about 140 μm and about 350 μm orbetween about 150 μm and about 220 μm for a more preferred effect insome embodiments. As shown in FIG. 18, in other embodiments, thereflective film 12 may be provided along the circumferential directionof the lamp tube 1 on only one side of the LED light strip 2 whileoccupying the same percentage of the inner surface area of the lamp tube1 (e.g., 15% to 25% for the one side). Alternatively, as shown in FIGS.19 and 20, the reflective film 12 may be provided without any opening,and the reflective film 12 is directly adhered or mounted to the innersurface of the lamp tube 1 and followed by mounting or fixing the LEDlight strip 2 on the reflective film 12 such that the reflective film 12positioned on one side or two sides of the LED light strip 2.

In the above mentioned embodiments, various types of the reflective film12 and the diffusion film 13 can be adopted to accomplish opticaleffects including single reflection, single diffusion, and/or combinedreflection-diffusion. For example, the lamp tube 1 may be provided withonly the reflective film 12, and no diffusion film 13 is disposed insidethe lamp tube 1, such as shown in FIGS. 19, 20, and 21.

In other embodiments, the width of the LED light strip 2 (along thecircumferential direction of the lamp tube) can be widened to occupy acircumference area of the inner circumferential surface of the lamp tube1. Since the LED light strip 2 has on its surface a circuit protectivelayer made of an ink which can reflect lights, the widen part of the LEDlight strip 2 functions like the reflective film 12 as mentioned above.In some embodiments, a ratio of the length of the LED light strip 2along the circumferential direction to the circumferential length of thelamp tube 1 is about 0.3 to 0.5. The light emitted from the lightsources could be concentrated by the reflection of the widen part of theLED light strip 2.

In other embodiments, the inner surface of the glass made lamp tube maybe coated totally with the optical diffusion coating, or partially withthe optical diffusion coating (where the reflective film 12 is coatedhave no optical diffusion coating). No matter in what coating manner, insome embodiments, it is more desirable that the optical diffusioncoating be coated on the outer surface of the rear end region of thelamp tube 1 so as to firmly secure the end cap 3 with the lamp tube 1.

In the present invention, the light emitted from the light sources maybe processed with the abovementioned diffusion film, reflective film,other kinds of diffusion layer sheets, adhesive film, or any combinationthereof.

Referring again to FIG. 2, the LED tube lamp according to someembodiments of present invention also includes an adhesive sheet 4, aninsulation adhesive sheet 7, and an optical adhesive sheet 8. The LEDlight strip 2 is fixed by the adhesive sheet 4 to an innercircumferential surface of the lamp tube 1. The adhesive sheet 4 may bebut is not limited to a silicone adhesive. The adhesive sheet 4 may bein form of several short pieces or a long piece. Various kinds of theadhesive sheet 4, the insulation adhesive sheet 7, and the opticaladhesive sheet 8 can be combined to constitute various embodiments ofthe present invention.

The insulation adhesive sheet 7 is coated on the surface of the LEDlight strip 2 that faces the LED light sources 202 so that the LED lightstrip 2 is not exposed and thus electrically insulated from the outsideenvironment. In application of the insulation adhesive sheet 7, aplurality of through holes 71 on the insulation adhesive sheet 7 arereserved to correspondingly accommodate the LED light sources 202 suchthat the LED light sources 202 are mounted in the through holes 701. Thematerial composition of the insulation adhesive sheet 7 may include, forexample vinyl silicone, hydrogen polysiloxane and aluminum oxide. Theinsulation adhesive sheet 7 has a thickness, for example, ranging fromabout 100 μm to about 140 μm (micrometers). The insulation adhesivesheet 7 having a thickness less than 100 μm typically does not producesufficient insulating effect, while the insulation adhesive sheet 7having a thickness more than 140 μm may result in material waste.

The optical adhesive sheet 8, which is a clear or transparent material,is applied or coated on the surface of the LED light source 202 in orderto ensure optimal light transmittance. After being applied to the LEDlight sources 202, the optical adhesive sheet 8 may have a granular,strip-like or sheet-like shape. The performance of the optical adhesivesheet 8 depends on its refractive index and thickness. The refractiveindex of the optical adhesive sheet 8 is in some embodiments between1.22 and 1.6. In some embodiments, it is better for the optical adhesivesheet 8 to have a refractive index being a square root of the refractiveindex of the housing or casing of the LED light source 202, or thesquare root of the refractive index of the housing or casing of the LEDlight source 202 plus or minus 15%, to contribute better lighttransmittance. The housing/casing of the LED light sources 202 is astructure to accommodate and carry the LED dies (or chips) such as a LEDlead frame 202 b as shown in FIG. 37. The refractive index of theoptical adhesive sheet 8 may range from 1.225 to 1.253. In someembodiments, the thickness of the optical adhesive sheet 8 may rangefrom 1.1 mm to 1.3 mm. The optical adhesive sheet 8 having a thicknessless than 1.1 mm may not be able to cover the LED light sources 202,while the optical adhesive sheet 8 having a thickness more than 1.3 mmmay reduce light transmittance and increases material cost.

In some embodiments, in the process of assembling the LED light sourcesto the LED light strip, the optical adhesive sheet 8 is first applied onthe LED light sources 202; then the insulation adhesive sheet 7 iscoated on one side of the LED light strip 2; then the LED light sources202 are fixed or mounted on the LED light strip 2; the other side of theLED light strip 2 being opposite to the side of mounting the LED lightsources 202 is bonded and affixed to the inner surface of the lamp tube1 by the adhesive sheet 4; finally, the end cap 3 is fixed to the endportion of the lamp tube 1, and the LED light sources 202 and the powersupply 5 are electrically connected by the LED light strip 2. As shownin the embodiment of FIG. 22, the bendable circuit sheet 2 passes thetransition region 103 to be soldered or traditionally wire-bonded withthe power supply 5, and then the end cap 3 having the structure as shownin FIG. 3 or 4 or FIG. 6 is adhered to the strengthened transitionregion 103 via methods as shown in FIG. 5 or FIG. 7, respectively toform a complete LED tube lamp.

In this embodiment, the LED light strip 2 is fixed by the adhesive sheet4 to an inner circumferential surface of the lamp tube 1, so as toincrease the light illumination angle of the LED tube lamp and broadenthe viewing angle to be greater than 330 degrees. By means of applyingthe insulation adhesive sheet 7 and the optical adhesive sheet 8,electrical insulation of the entire light strip 2 is accomplished suchthat electrical shock would not occur even when the lamp tube 1 isbroken and therefore safety could be improved.

Furthermore, the inner peripheral surface or the outer circumferentialsurface of the glass made lamp tube 1 may be covered or coated with anadhesive film (not shown) to isolate the inside from the outside of theglass made lamp tube 1 when the glass made lamp tube 1 is broken. Inthis embodiment, the adhesive film is coated on the inner peripheralsurface of the lamp tube 1. The material for the coated adhesive filmincludes, for example, methyl vinyl silicone oil, hydro silicone oil,xylene, and calcium carbonate, wherein xylene is used as an auxiliarymaterial. The xylene will be volatilized and removed when the coatedadhesive film on the inner surface of the lamp tube 1 solidifies orhardens. The xylene is mainly used to adjust the capability of adhesionand therefore to control the thickness of the coated adhesive film.

In one embodiment, the thickness of the coated adhesive film ispreferably between about 100 and about 140 micrometers (μm). Theadhesive film having a thickness being less than 100 micrometers may nothave sufficient shatterproof capability for the glass tube, and theglass tube is thus prone to crack or shatter. The adhesive film having athickness being larger than 140 micrometers may reduce the lighttransmittance and also increase material cost. The thickness of thecoated adhesive film may be between about 10 and about 800 micrometers(μm) when the shatterproof capability and the light transmittance arenot strictly demanded.

In one embodiment, the inner peripheral surface or the outercircumferential surface of the glass made lamp tube 1 is coated with anadhesive film such that the broken pieces are adhered to the adhesivefilm when the glass made lamp tube is broken. Therefore, the lamp tube 1would not be penetrated to form a through hole connecting the inside andoutside of the lamp tube 1 and thus prevents a user from touching anycharged object inside the lamp tube 1 to avoid electrical shock. Inaddition, the adhesive film is able to diffuse light and allows thelight to transmit such that the light uniformity and the lighttransmittance of the entire LED tube lamp increases. The adhesive filmcan be used in combination with the adhesive sheet 4, the insulationadhesive sheet 7 and the optical adhesive sheet 8 to constitute variousembodiments of the present invention. As the LED light strip 2 isconfigured to be a bendable circuit sheet, no coated adhesive film isthereby required.

Furthermore, the light strip 2 may be an elongated aluminum plate, FR 4board, or a bendable circuit sheet. When the lamp tube 1 is made ofglass, adopting a rigid aluminum plate or FR4 board would make a brokenlamp tube, e.g., broken into two parts, remain a straight shape so thata user may be under a false impression that the LED tube lamp is stillusable and fully functional, and it is easy for him to incur electricshock upon handling or installation of the LED tube lamp. Because ofadded flexibility and bendability of the flexible substrate for the LEDlight strip 2, the problem faced by the aluminum plate, FR4 board, orconventional 3-layered flexible board having inadequate flexibility andbendability, are thereby addressed. In certain embodiments, a bendablecircuit sheet is adopted as the LED light strip 2 for that such a LEDlight strip 2 would not allow a ruptured or broken lamp tube to maintaina straight shape and therefore instantly inform the user of thedisability of the LED tube lamp and avoid possibly incurred electricalshock. The following are further descriptions of the bendable circuitsheet used as the LED light strip 2.

Referring to FIG. 23, in one embodiment, the LED light strip 2 includesa bendable circuit sheet having a conductive wiring layer 2 a and adielectric layer 2 b that are arranged in a stacked manner, wherein thewiring layer 2 a and the dielectric layer 2 b have same areas. The LEDlight source 202 is disposed on one surface of the wiring layer 2 a, thedielectric layer 2 b is disposed on the other surface of the wiringlayer 2 a that is away from the LED light sources 202. The wiring layer2 a is electrically connected to the power supply 5 to carry directcurrent (DC) signals. Meanwhile, the surface of the dielectric layer 2 baway from the wiring layer 2 a is fixed to the inner circumferentialsurface of the lamp tube 1 by means of the adhesive sheet 4. The wiringlayer 2 a can be a metal layer or a power supply layer including wiressuch as copper wires.

In another embodiment, the outer surface of the wiring layer 2 a or thedielectric layer 2 b may be covered with a circuit protective layer madeof an ink with function of resisting soldering and increasingreflectivity. Alternatively, the dielectric layer can be omitted and thewiring layer can be directly bonded to the inner circumferential surfaceof the lamp tube, and the outer surface of the wiring layer 2 a iscoated with the circuit protective layer. Whether the wiring layer 2 ahas a one-layered, or two-layered structure, the circuit protectivelayer can be adopted. In some embodiments, the circuit protective layeris disposed only on one side/surface of the LED light strip 2, such asthe surface having the LED light source 202. In some embodiments, thebendable circuit sheet is a one-layered structure made of just onewiring layer 2 a, or a two-layered structure made of one wiring layer 2a and one dielectric layer 2 b, and thus is more bendable or flexible tocurl when compared with the conventional three-layered flexiblesubstrate (one dielectric layer sandwiched with two wiring layers). As aresult, the bendable circuit sheet of the LED light strip 2 can beinstalled in a lamp tube with a customized shape or non-tubular shape,and fitly mounted to the inner surface of the lamp tube. The bendablecircuit sheet closely mounted to the inner surface of the lamp tube ispreferable in some cases. In addition, using fewer layers of thebendable circuit sheet improves the heat dissipation and lowers thematerial cost.

Nevertheless, the bendable circuit sheet is not limited to beingone-layered or two-layered; in other embodiments, the bendable circuitsheet may include multiple layers of the wiring layers 2 a and multiplelayers of the dielectric layers 2 b, in which the dielectric layers 2 band the wiring layers 2 a are sequentially stacked in a staggeredmanner, respectively. These stacked layers are away from the surface ofthe outermost wiring layer 2 a which has the LED light source 202disposed thereon and is electrically connected to the power supply 5.Moreover, the length of the bendable circuit sheet is greater than thelength of the lamp tube.

Referring to FIG. 48, in one embodiment, the LED light strip 2 includesa bendable circuit sheet having in sequence a first wiring layer 2 a, adielectric layer 2 b, and a second wiring layer 2 c. The thickness ofthe second wiring layer 2 c is greater than that of the first wiringlayer 2 a, and the length of the LED light strip 2 is greater than thatof the lamp tube 1. The end region of the light strip 2 extending beyondthe end portion of the lamp tube 1 without disposition of the lightsource 202 is formed with two separate through holes 203 and 204 torespectively electrically communicate the first wiring layer 2 a and thesecond wiring layer 2 c. The through holes 203 and 204 are notcommunicated to each other to avoid short.

In this way, the greater thickness of the second wiring layer 2 c allowsthe second wiring layer 2 c to support the first wiring layer 2 a andthe dielectric layer 2 b, and meanwhile allow the LED light strip 2 tobe mounted onto the inner circumferential surface without being liableto shift or deform, and thus the yield rate of product can be improved.In addition, the first wiring layer 2 a and the second wiring layer 2 care in electrical communication such that the circuit layout of thefirst wiring later 2 a can be extended downward to the second wiringlayer 2 c to reach the circuit layout of the entire LED light strip 2.Moreover, since the land for the circuit layout becomes two-layered, thearea of each single layer and therefore the width of the LED light strip2 can be reduced such that more LED light strips 2 can be put on aproduction line to increase productivity.

Furthermore, the first wiring layer 2 a and the second wiring layer 2 cof the end region of the LED light strip 2 that extends beyond the endportion of the lamp tube 1 without disposition of the light source 202can be used to accomplish the circuit layout of a power supply module sothat the power supply module can be directly disposed on the bendablecircuit sheet of the LED light strip 2.

Referring to FIG. 2, in one embodiment, the LED light strip 2 has aplurality of LED light sources 202 mounted thereon, and the end cap 3has a power supply 5 installed therein. The LED light sources 202 andthe power supply 5 are electrically connected by the LED light strip 2.The power supply 5 may be a single integrated unit (i.e., all of thepower supply components are integrated into one module unit) installedin one end cap 3. Alternatively, the power supply 5 may be divided intotwo separate units (i.e. the power supply components are divided intotwo parts) installed in two end caps 3, respectively. When only one endof the lamp tube 1 is strengthened by a glass tempering process, it maybe preferable that the power supply 5 is a single integrated unit andinstalled in the end cap 3 corresponding to the strengthened end of thelamp tube 1.

The power supply 5 can be fabricated by various ways. For example, thepower supply 5 may be an encapsulation body formed by injection moldinga silica gel with high thermal conductivity such as being greater than0.7 w/m·k. This kind of power supply has advantages of high electricalinsulation, high heat dissipation, and regular shape to match othercomponents in an assembly. Alternatively, the power supply 5 in the endcaps may be a printed circuit board having components that are directlyexposed or packaged by a conventional heat shrink sleeve. The powersupply 5 according to some embodiments of the present invention can be asingle printed circuit board provided with a power supply module asshown in FIG. 23 or a single integrated unit as shown in FIG. 38.

Referring to FIGS. 2 and 38, in one embodiment of the present invention,the power supply 5 is provided with a male plug 51 at one end and ametal pin 52 at the other end, one end of the LED light strip 2 iscorrespondingly provided with a female plug 201, and the end cap 3 isprovided with a hollow conductive pin 301 to be connected with an outerelectrical power source. Specifically, the male plug 51 is fittinglyinserted into the female plug 201 of the LED light strip 2, while themetal pins 52 are fittingly inserted into the hollow conductive pins 301of the end cap 3. The male plug 51 and the female plug 201 function as aconnector between the power supply 5 and the LED light strip 2. Uponinsertion of the metal pin 502, the hollow conductive pin 301 is punchedwith an external punching tool to slightly deform such that the metalpin 502 of the power supply 5 is secured and electrically connected tothe hollow conductive pin 301. Upon turning on the electrical power, theelectrical current passes in sequence through the hollow conductive pin301, the metal pin 502, the male plug 501, and the female plug 201 toreach the LED light strip 2 and go to the LED light sources 202.However, the power supply 5 of the present invention is not limited tothe modular type as shown in FIG. 38. The power supply 5 may be aprinted circuit board provided with a power supply module andelectrically connected to the LED light strip 2 via the abovementionedthe male plug 51 and female plug 52 combination.

In another embodiment, a traditional wire bonding technique can be usedinstead of the male plug 51 and the female plug 52 for connecting anykind of the power supply 5 and the light strip 2. Furthermore, the wiresmay be wrapped with an electrically insulating tube to protect a userfrom being electrically shocked. However, the bonded wires tend to beeasily broken during transportation and can therefore cause qualityissues.

In still another embodiment, the connection between the power supply 5and the LED light strip 2 may be accomplished via tin soldering, rivetbonding, or welding. One way to secure the LED light strip 2 is toprovide the adhesive sheet 4 at one side thereof and adhere the LEDlight strip 2 to the inner surface of the lamp tube 1 via the adhesivesheet 4. Two ends of the LED light strip 2 can be either fixed to ordetached from the inner surface of the lamp tube 1.

In case that two ends of the LED light strip 2 are fixed to the innersurface of the lamp tube 1, it may be preferable that the bendablecircuit sheet of the LED light strip 2 is provided with the female plug201 and the power supply is provided with the male plug 51 to accomplishthe connection between the LED light strip 2 and the power supply 5. Inthis case, the male plug 51 of the power supply 5 is inserted into thefemale plug 201 to establish electrical connection.

In case that two ends of the LED light strip 2 are detached from theinner surface of the lamp tube and that the LED light strip 2 isconnected to the power supply 5 via wire-bonding, any movement insubsequent transportation is likely to cause the bonded wires to break.Therefore, a preferable option for the connection between the lightstrip 2 and the power supply 5 could be soldering. Specifically,referring to FIG. 22, the ends of the LED light strip 2 including thebendable circuit sheet are arranged to pass over the strengthenedtransition region 103 and directly soldering bonded to an outputterminal of the power supply 5 such that the product quality is improvedwithout using wires. In this way, the female plug 201 and the male plug51 respectively provided for the LED light strip 2 and the power supply5 are no longer needed.

Referring to FIG. 24, an output terminal of the printed circuit board ofthe power supply 5 may have soldering pads “a” provided with an amountof tin solder with a thickness sufficient to later form a solder joint.Correspondingly, the ends of the LED light strip 2 may have solderingpads “b”. The soldering pads “a” on the output terminal of the printedcircuit board of the power supply 5 are soldered to the soldering pads“b” on the LED light strip 2 via the tin solder on the soldering pads“a”. The soldering pads “a” and the soldering pads “b” may be face toface during soldering such that the connection between the LED lightstrip 2 and the printed circuit board of the power supply 5 is the mostfirm. However, this kind of soldering typically includes that athermo-compression head presses on the rear surface of the LED lightstrip 2 and heats the tine solder, i.e. the LED light strip 2 intervenesbetween the thermo-compression head and the tin solder, and thereforemay easily cause reliability problems. Referring to FIG. 30, a throughhole may be formed in each of the soldering pads “b” on the LED lightstrip 2 to allow the soldering pads “b” overlay the soldering pads “a”without face-to-face and the thermo-compression head directly pressestin solders on the soldering pads “a” on surface of the printed circuitboard of the power supply 5 when the soldering pads “a” and thesoldering pads “b” are vertically aligned. This is an easy way toaccomplish in practice.

Referring again to FIG. 24, two ends of the LED light strip 2 detachedfrom the inner surface of the lamp tube 1 are formed as freely extendingportions 21, while most of the LED light strip 2 is attached and securedto the inner surface of the lamp tube 1. One of the freely extendingportions 21 has the soldering pads “b” as mentioned above. Uponassembling of the LED tube lamp, the freely extending end portions 21along with the soldered connection of the printed circuit board of thepower supply 5 and the LED light strip 2 would be coiled, curled up ordeformed to be fittingly accommodated inside the lamp tube 1. When thebendable circuit sheet of the LED light strip 2 includes in sequence thefirst wiring layer 2 a, the dielectric layer 2 b, and the second wiringlayer 2 c as shown in FIG. 48, the freely extending end portions 21 canbe used to accomplish the connection between the first wiring layer 2 aand the second wiring layer 2 c and arrange the circuit layout of thepower supply 5.

In this embodiment, during the connection of the LED light strip 2 andthe power supply 5, the soldering pads “b” and the soldering pads “a”and the LED light sources 202 are on surfaces facing toward the samedirection and the soldering pads “b” on the LED light strip 2 are eachformed with a through hole “e” as shown in FIG. 30 such that thesoldering pads “b” and the soldering pads “a” communicate with eachother via the through holes “e”. When the freely extending end portions21 are deformed due to contraction or curling up, the solderedconnection of the printed circuit board of the power supply 5 and theLED light strip 2 exerts a lateral tension on the power supply 5.Furthermore, the soldered connection of the printed circuit board of thepower supply 5 and the LED light strip 2 also exerts a downward tensionon the power supply 5 when compared with the situation where thesoldering pads “a” of the power supply 5 and the soldering pads “b” ofthe LED light strip 2 are face to face. This downward tension on thepower supply 5 comes from the tin solders inside the through holes “e”and forms a stronger and more secure electrical connection between theLED light strip 2 and the power supply 5.

Referring to FIG. 25, in one embodiment, the soldering pads “b” of theLED light strip 2 are two separate pads to electrically connect thepositive and negative electrodes of the bendable circuit sheet of theLED light strip 2, respectively. The size of the soldering pads “b” maybe, for example, about 3.5×2 mm². The printed circuit board of the powersupply 5 is correspondingly provided with soldering pads “a” havingreserved tin solders, and the height of the tin solders suitable forsubsequent automatic soldering bonding process is generally, forexample, about 0.1 to 0.7 mm, in some preferable embodiments about 0.3to about 0.5 mm, and in some even more preferable embodiments about 0.4mm. An electrically insulating through hole “c” may be formed betweenthe two soldering pads “b” to isolate and prevent the two soldering padsfrom electrically short during soldering. Furthermore, an extrapositioning opening “d” may also be provided behind the electricallyinsulating through hole “c” to allow an automatic soldering machine toquickly recognize the position of the soldering pads “b”.

For the sake of achieving scalability and compatibility, the amount ofthe soldering pads “b” on each end of the LED light strip 2 may be morethan one such as two, three, four, or more than four. When there is onlyone soldering pad “b” provided at each end of the LED light strip 2, thetwo ends of the LED light strip 2 are electrically connected to thepower supply 5 to form a loop, and various electrical components can beused. For example, a capacitance may be replaced by an inductance toperform current regulation. Referring to FIGS. 26 to 28, when each endof the LED light strip 2 has three soldering pads, the third solderingpad can be grounded; when each end of the LED light strip 2 has foursoldering pads, the fourth soldering pad can be used as a signal inputterminal. Correspondingly, in some embodiments, the power supply 5should have same amount of soldering pads “a” as that of the solderingpads “b” on the LED light strip 2. In some embodiments, as long aselectrical short between the soldering pads “b” can be prevented, thesoldering pads “b” should be arranged according to the dimension of theactual area for disposition, for example, three soldering pads can bearranged in a row or two rows. In other embodiments, the amount of thesoldering pads “b” on the bendable circuit sheet of the LED light strip2 may be reduced by rearranging the circuits on the bendable circuitsheet of the LED light strip 2. The lesser the amount of the solderingpads, the easier the fabrication process becomes. On the other hand, agreater number of soldering pads may improve and secure the electricalconnection between the LED light strip 2 and the output terminal of thepower supply 5.

Referring to FIG. 30, in another embodiment, the soldering pads “b” eachis formed with a through hole “e” having a diameter generally of about 1to 2 mm, in some preferred embodiments of about 1.2 to 1.8 mm, and inyet further preferred embodiments of about 1.5 mm. The through hole “e”communicates the soldering pad “a” with the soldering pad “b” so thatthe tin solder on the soldering pads “a” passes through the throughholes “e” and finally reach the soldering pads “b”. A smaller throughhole “e” would make it difficult for the tin solder to pass. The tinsolder accumulates around the through holes “e” upon exiting the throughholes “e” and condense to form a solder ball “g” with a larger diameterthan that of the through holes “e” upon condensing. Such a solder ball“g” functions as a rivet to further increase the stability of theelectrical connection between the soldering pads “a” on the power supply5 and the soldering pads “b” on the LED light strip 2.

Referring to FIGS. 31 to 32, in other embodiments, when a distance fromthe through hole “e” to the side edge of the LED light strip 2 is lessthan 1 mm, the tin solder may pass through the through hole “e” toaccumulate on the periphery of the through hole “e”, and extra tinsolder may spill over the soldering pads “b” to reflow along the sideedge of the LED light strip 2 and join the tin solder on the solderingpads “a” of the power supply 5. The tin solder then condenses to form astructure like a rivet to firmly secure the LED light strip 2 onto theprinted circuit board of the power supply 5 such that reliable electricconnection is achieved. Referring to FIGS. 33 and 34, in anotherembodiment, the through hole “e” can be replaced by a notch “f” formedat the side edge of the soldering pads “b” for the tin solder to easilypass through the notch “f” and accumulate on the periphery of the notch“f” and to form a solder ball with a larger diameter than that of thethrough hole “e” upon condensing. Such a solder ball may be formed likea C-shape rivet to enhance the secure capability of the electricallyconnecting structure.

The abovementioned through hole “e” or notch “f” might be formed inadvance of soldering or formed by direct punching with athermo-compression head, as shown in FIG. 40, during soldering. Theportion of the thermo-compression head for touching the tin solder maybe flat, concave, or convex, or any combination thereof. The portion ofthe thermo-compression head for restraining the object to be solderedsuch as the LED light strip 2 may be strip-like or grid-like. Theportion of the thermo-compression head for touching the tin solder doesnot completely cover the through hole “e” or the notch “f” to make surethat the tin solder is able to pass through the through hole “e” or thenotch “f”. The portion of the thermo-compression head being concave mayfunction as a room to receive the solder ball.

Referring to FIG. 40, a thermo-compression head 41 used for bonding thesoldering pads “a” on the power supply 5 and the soldering pads “b” onthe light strip 2 is mainly composed of four sections: a bonding plane411, a plurality of concave guiding tanks 412, a plurality of concavemolding tanks 413, and a restraining plane 414. The bonding plane 411 isa portion actually touching, pressing and heating the tin solder toperform soldering bonding. The bonding plane 411 may be flat, concave,convex or any combination thereof. The concave guiding tanks 412 areformed on the bonding plane 411 and opened near an edge of the bondingplane 411 to guide the heated and melted tin solder to flow into thethrough holes or notches formed on the soldering pads. For example, theguiding tanks 412 may function to guide and stop the melted tin solders.The concave molding tanks 413 are positioned beside the guiding tanks412 and have a concave portion more depressed than that of the guidingtanks 412 such that the concave molding tanks 413 each form a housing toreceive the solder ball. The restraining plane 414 is a portion next tothe bonding plane 411 and formed with the concave molding tanks 413. Therestraining plane 414 is lower than the bonding plane 411 such that therestraining plane 414 firmly presses the LED light strip 2 on theprinted circuit board of the power supply 5 while the bonding plane 411presses against the soldering pads “b” during the soldering bonding. Therestraining plane 414 may be strip-like or grid-like on surface. Thedifference of height of the bonding plane 411 and the restraining plane414 is the thickness of the LED light strip 2.

Referring to FIGS. 41, 25, and 40, soldering pads corresponding to thesoldering pads of the LED light strip are formed on the printed circuitboard of the power supply 5 and tin solder is reserved on the solderingpads on the printed circuit board of the power supply 5 for subsequentsoldering bonding performed by an automatic soldering bonding machine.The tin solder in some embodiments has a thickness of about 0.3 mm toabout 0.5 mm such that the LED light strip 2 can be firmly soldered tothe printed circuit board of the power supply 5. As shown in FIG. 41, incase of having height difference between two tin solders respectivelyreserved on two soldering pads on the printed circuit board of the powersupply 5, the higher one will be touched first and melted by thethermo-compression head 41 while the other one will be touched and startto melt until the higher one is melted to a height the same as theheight of the other one. This usually incurs unsecured soldering bondingfor the reserved tin solder with smaller height, and therefore affectsthe electrical connection between the LED light strip 2 and the printedcircuit board of the power supply 5. To alleviate this problem, in oneembodiment, the present invention applies the kinetic equilibriumprincipal and installs a linkage mechanism on the thermo-compressionhead 41 to allow rotation of the thermo-compression head 41 during asoldering bonding such that the thermo-compression head 41 starts toheat and melt the two reserved tin solders only when thethermo-compression head 41 detects that the pressure on the two reservedtin solders are the same.

In the abovementioned embodiment, the thermo-compression head 41 isrotatable while the LED light strip 2 and the printed circuit board ofthe power supply 5 remain unmoved. Referring to FIG. 42, in anotherembodiment, the thermo-compression head 41 is unmoved while the LEDlight strip is allowed to rotate. In this embodiment, the LED lightstrip 2 and the printed circuit board of the power supply 5 are loadedon a soldering vehicle 60 including a rotary platform 61, a vehicleholder 62, a rotating shaft 63, and two elastic members 64. The rotaryplatform 61 functions to carry the LED light strip 2 and the printedcircuit board of the power supply 5. The rotary platform 61 is movablymounted to the vehicle holder 62 via the rotating shaft 63 so that therotary platform 61 is able to rotate with respect to the vehicle holder62 while the vehicle holder 62 bears and holds the rotary platform 61.The two elastic members 64 are disposed on two sides of the rotatingshaft 63, respectively, such that the rotary platform 61 in connectionwith the rotating shaft 63 always remains at the horizontal level whenthe rotary platform 61 is not loaded. In this embodiment, the elasticmembers 64 are springs for example, and the ends thereof are disposedcorresponding to two sides of the rotating shaft 63 so as to function astwo pivots on the vehicle holder 62. As shown in FIG. 42, when two tinsolders reserved on the LED light strip 2 pressed by thethermo-compression head 41 are not at the same height level, the rotaryplatform 61 carrying the LED light strip 2 and the printed circuit boardof the power supply 5 will be driven by the a rotating shaft 63 torotate until the thermo-compression head 41 detects the same pressure onthe two reserved tin solders, and then starts a soldering bonding.Referring to FIG. 43, when the rotary platform 61 rotates, the elasticmembers 64 at two sides of the rotating shaft 63 are compressed orpulled; and the driving force of the rotating shaft 63 releases and therotary platform 61 returns to the original height level by theresilience of the elastic members 64 when the soldering bonding iscompleted.

In other embodiments, the rotary platform 61 may be designed to havemechanisms without using the rotating shaft 63 and the elastic members64. For example, the rotary platform 61 may be designed to have drivingmotors and active rotary mechanisms, and therefore the vehicle holder 62is saved. Accordingly, other embodiments utilizing the kineticequilibrium principle to drive the LED light strip 2 and the printedcircuit board of the power supply 5 to move in order to complete thesoldering bonding process are within the spirit of the presentinvention.

Referring to FIGS. 35 and 36, in another embodiment, the LED light strip2 and the power supply 5 may be connected by utilizing a circuit boardassembly 25 instead of soldering bonding. The circuit board assembly 25has a long circuit sheet 251 and a short circuit board 253 that areadhered to each other with the short circuit board 253 being adjacent tothe side edge of the long circuit sheet 251. The short circuit board 253may be provided with power supply module 250 to form the power supply 5.The short circuit board 253 is stiffer or more rigid than the longcircuit sheet 251 to be able to support the power supply module 250.

The long circuit sheet 251 may be the bendable circuit sheet of the LEDlight strip including a wiring layer 2 a as shown in FIG. 23. The wiringlayer 2 a of the long circuit sheet 251 and the power supply module 250may be electrically connected in various manners depending on the demandin practice. As shown in FIG. 35, the power supply module 250 and thelong circuit sheet 251 having the wiring layer 2 a on surface are on thesame side of the short circuit board 253 such that the power supplymodule 250 is directly connected to the long circuit sheet 251. As shownin FIG. 36, alternatively, the power supply module 250 and the longcircuit sheet 251 including the wiring layer 2 a on surface are onopposite sides of the short circuit board 253 such that the power supplymodule 250 is directly connected to the short circuit board 253 andindirectly connected to the wiring layer 2 a of the LED light strip 2 byway of the short circuit board 253.

As shown in FIG. 35, in one embodiment, the long circuit sheet 251 andthe short circuit board 253 are adhered together first, and the powersupply module 250 is subsequently mounted on the wiring layer 2 a of thelong circuit sheet 251 serving as the LED light strip 2. The longcircuit sheet 251 of the LED light strip 2 herein is not limited toinclude only one wiring layer 2 a and may further include another wiringlayer such as the wiring layer 2 c shown in FIG. 48. The light sources202 are disposed on the wiring layer 2 a of the LED light strip 2 andelectrically connected to the power supply 5 by way of the wiring layer2 a. As shown in FIG. 36, in another embodiment, the long circuit sheet251 of the LED light strip 2 may include a wiring layer 2 a and adielectric layer 2 b. The dielectric layer 2 b may be adhered to theshort circuit board 253 first and the wiring layer 2 a is subsequentlyadhered to the dielectric layer 2 b and extends to the short circuitboard 253. All these embodiments are within the scope of applying thecircuit board assembly concept of the present invention.

In the above-mentioned embodiments, the short circuit board 253 may havea length generally of about 15 mm to about 40 mm and in some preferableembodiments about 19 mm to about 36 mm, while the long circuit sheet 251may have a length generally of about 800 mm to about 2800 mm and in someembodiments of about 1200 mm to about 2400 mm. A ratio of the length ofthe short circuit board 253 to the length of the long circuit sheet 251ranges from, for example, about 1:20 to about 1:200.

When the ends of the LED light strip 2 are not fixed on the innersurface of the lamp tube 1, the connection between the LED light strip 2and the power supply 5 via soldering bonding could not firmly supportthe power supply 5, and it may be necessary to dispose the power supply5 inside the end cap 3. For example, a longer end cap to have enoughspace for receiving the power supply 5 would be needed. However, thiswill reduce the length of the lamp tube under the prerequisite that thetotal length of the LED tube lamp is fixed according to the productstandard, and may therefore decrease the effective illuminating areas.

Referring to FIG. 39, in one embodiment, a hard circuit board 22 made ofaluminum is used instead of the bendable circuit sheet, such that theends or terminals of the hard circuit board 22 can be mounted at ends ofthe lamp tube 1, and the power supply 5 is solder bonded to one of theends or terminals of the hard circuit board 22 in a manner such that theprinted circuit board of the power supply 5 is not parallel but may beperpendicular to the hard circuit board 22 to save space in thelongitudinal direction used for the end cap. This solder bondingtechnique may be more convenient to accomplish and the effectiveilluminating areas of the LED tube lamp could also remain. Moreover, aconductive lead 53 for electrical connection with the end cap 3 could beformed directly on the power supply 5 without soldering other metalwires between the power supply 5 and the hollow conductive pin 301 asshown in FIG. 3, and which facilitates the manufacturing of the LED tubelamp.

Referring to FIG. 37, in one embodiment, each of the LED light sources202 may be provided with an LED lead frame 202 b having a recess 202 a,and an LED chip 18 disposed in the recess 202 a. The recess 202 a may beone or more than one in amount. The recess 202 a may be filled withphosphor covering the LED chip 18 to convert emitted light therefrominto a desired light color. Compared with a conventional LED chip beinga substantial square, the LED chip 18 in this embodiment may bepreferably rectangular with the dimension of the length side to thewidth side at a ratio ranges generally from about 2:1 to about 10:1, insome embodiments from about 2.5:1 to about 5:1, and in some moredesirable embodiments from about 3:1 to about 4.5:1. Moreover, the LEDchip 18 is in some embodiments arranged with its length directionextending along the length direction of the lamp tube 1 to increase theaverage current density of the LED chip 18 and improve the overallillumination field shape of the lamp tube 1. The lamp tube 1 may have anumber of LED light sources 202 arranged into one or more rows, and eachrow of the LED light sources 202 is arranged along the length direction(Y-direction) of the lamp tube 1.

Referring again to FIG. 37, the recess 202 a is enclosed by two parallelfirst sidewalls 15 and two parallel second sidewalls 16 with the firstsidewalls 15 being lower than the second sidewalls 16. The two firstsidewalls 15 are arranged to be located along a length direction(Y-direction) of the lamp tube 1 and extend along the width direction(X-direction) of the lamp tube 1, and two second sidewalls 16 arearranged to be located along a width direction (X-direction) of the lamptube 1 and extend along the length direction (Y-direction) of the lamptube 1. The extending direction of the first sidewalls 15 may besubstantially rather than exactly parallel to the width direction(X-direction) of the lamp tube 1, and the first sidewalls may havevarious outlines such as zigzag, curved, wavy, and the like. Similarly,the extending direction of the second sidewalls 16 may be substantiallyrather than exactly parallel to the length direction (Y-direction) ofthe lamp tube 1, and the second sidewalls may have various outlines suchas zigzag, curved, wavy, and the like. In one row of the LED lightsources 202, the arrangement of the first sidewalls 15 and the secondsidewalls 16 for each LED light source 202 can be same or different.

Having the first sidewalls 15 being lower than the second sidewalls 16and proper distance arrangement, the LED lead frame 202 b allowsdispersion of the light illumination to cross over the LED lead frame202 b without causing uncomfortable visual feeling to people observingthe LED tube lamp along the Y-direction. In some embodiments, the firstsidewalls 15 may not be lower than the second sidewalls, however, and inthis case the rows of the LED light sources 202 are more closelyarranged to reduce grainy effects. On the other hand, when a user of theLED tube lamp observes the lamp tube thereof along the X-direction, thesecond sidewalls 16 also can block user's line of sight from seeing theLED light sources 202, and which reduces unpleasing grainy effects.

Referring again to FIG. 37, the first sidewalls 15 each includes aninner surface 15 a facing toward outside of the recess 202 a. The innersurface 15 a may be designed to be an inclined plane such that the lightillumination easily crosses over the first sidewalls 15 and spreads out.The inclined plane of the inner surface 15 a may be flat or cambered orcombined shape. In some embodiments, when the inclined plane is flat,the slope of the inner surface 15 a ranges from about 30 degrees toabout 60 degrees. Thus, an included angle between the bottom surface ofthe recess 202 a and the inner surface 15 a may range from about 120 toabout 150 degrees. In some embodiments, the slope of the inner surface15 a ranges from about 15 degrees to about 75 degrees, and the includedangle between the bottom surface of the recess 202 a and the innersurface 15 a ranges from about 105 degrees to about 165 degrees.

There may be one row or several rows of the LED light sources 202arranged in a length direction (Y-direction) of the lamp tube 1. In caseof one row, in one embodiment, the second sidewalls 16 of the LED leadframes 202 b of all of the LED light sources 202 located in the same roware disposed in same straight lines to respectively form two walls forblocking the user's line of sight seeing the LED light sources 202. Incase of several rows, in some embodiments, only the LED lead frames 202b of the LED light sources 202 disposed in the outermost two rows aredisposed in same straight lines to respectively form walls for blockinguser's line of sight seeing the LED light sources 202. In case ofseveral rows, it may be required only that the LED lead frames 202 b ofthe LED light sources 202 disposed in the outermost two rows aredisposed in same straight lines to respectively from walls for blockinguser's line of sight seeing the LED light sources 202. The LED leadframes 202 b of the LED light sources 202 disposed in the other rows canhave different arrangements. For example, as far as the LED lightsources 202 located in the middle row (third row) are concerned, the LEDlead frames 202 b thereof may be arranged such that: each LED lead frame202 b has the first sidewalls 15 arranged along the length direction(Y-direction) of the lamp tube 1 with the second sidewalls 16 arrangedalong in the width direction (X-direction) of the lamp tube 1; each LEDlead frame 202 b has the first sidewalls 15 arranged along the widthdirection (X-direction) of the lamp tube 1 with the second sidewalls 16arranged along the length direction (Y-direction) of the lamp tube 1; orthe LED lead frames 202 b are arranged in a staggered manner. To reducegrainy effects caused by the LED light sources 202 when a user of theLED tube lamp observes the lamp tube thereof along the X-direction, itmay be enough to have the second sidewalls 16 of the LED lead frames 202b of the LED light sources 202 located in the outmost rows to blockuser's line of sight from seeing the LED light sources 202. Differentarrangements may be used for the second sidewalls 16 of the LED leadframes 202 b of one or several of the LED light sources 202 located inthe outmost two rows.

In summary, when a plurality of the LED light sources 202 are arrangedin a row extending along the length direction of the lamp tube 1, thesecond sidewalls 16 of the LED lead frames 202 b of all of the LED lightsources 202 located in the same row may be disposed in same straightlines to respectively form walls for blocking user's line of sightseeing the LED light sources 202. When a plurality of the LED lightsources 202 are arranged in a number of rows being located along thewidth direction of the lamp tube 1 and extending along the lengthdirection of the lamp tube 1, the second sidewalls 16 of the LED leadframes 202 b of all of the LED light sources 202 located in the outmosttwo rows may be disposed in straight lines to respectively form twowalls for blocking user's line of sight seeing the LED light sources202. The one or more than one rows located between the outmost rows mayhave the first sidewalls 15 and the second sidewalls 16 arranged in away the same as or different from that for the outmost rows.

The LED tube lamps according to various different embodiments of thepresent invention are described as above. With respect to an entire LEDtube lamp, the features including “having the structure-strengthened endregion”, “adopting the bendable circuit sheet as the LED light strip”,“coating the adhesive film on the inner surface of the lamp tube”,“coating the diffusion film on the inner surface of the lamp tube”,“covering the diffusion film in form of a sheet above the LED lightsources”, “coating the reflective film on the inner surface of the lamptube”, “the end cap including the thermal conductive member”, “the endcap including the magnetic metal member”, “the LED light source beingprovided with the lead frame”, and “utilizing the circuit board assemblyto connect the LED light strip and the power supply” may be applied inpractice singly or integrally such that only one of the features ispracticed or a number of the features are simultaneously practiced.

Furthermore, any of the features “having the structure-strengthened endregion”, “adopting the bendable circuit sheet as the LED light strip”,“coating the adhesive film on the inner surface of the lamp tube”,“coating the diffusion film on the inner surface of the lamp tube”,“covering the diffusion film in form of a sheet above the LED lightsources”, “coating the reflective film on the inner surface of the lamptube”, “the end cap including the thermal conductive member”, “the endcap including the magnetic metal member”, “the LED light source beingprovided with the lead frame”, “utilizing the circuit board assembly(including a long circuit sheet and a short circuit board) to connectthe LED light strip and the power supply”, “a rectifying circuit”, “afiltering circuit”, “a driving circuit”, “a terminal adapter circuit”,“an anti-flickering circuit”, “a protection circuit”, “a mode switchingcircuit”, “an overvoltage protection circuit”, “a ballast detectioncircuit”, “a ballast-compatible circuit”, “a filament-simulatingcircuit”, and “an auxiliary power module” includes any related technicalpoints and their variations and any combination thereof as described inthe abovementioned embodiments of the present invention.

As an example, the feature “having the structure-strengthened endregion” may include “the lamp tube includes a main body region, aplurality of rear end regions, and a transition region connecting themain body region and the rear end regions, wherein the two ends of thetransition region are arc-shaped in a cross-section view along the axialdirection of the lamp tube; the rear end regions are respectivelysleeved with end caps; the outer diameter of at least one of the rearend regions is less than the outer diameter of the main body region; theend caps have same outer diameters as that of the main body region.”

As an example, the feature “adopting the bendable circuit sheet as theLED light strip” includes “the connection between the bendable circuitsheet and the power supply is by way of wire bonding or solderingbonding; the bendable circuit sheet includes a wiring layer and adielectric layer arranged in a stacked manner; the bendable circuitsheet has a circuit protective layer made of ink to reflect lights andhas widened part along the circumferential direction of the lamp tube tofunction as a reflective film.”

As an example, the feature “coating the diffusion film on the innersurface of the lamp tube” may include “the composition of the diffusionfilm includes calcium carbonate, halogen calcium phosphate and aluminumoxide, or any combination thereof, and may further include thickener anda ceramic activated carbon; the diffusion film may be a sheet coveringthe LED light source.”

As an example, the feature “coating the reflective film on the innersurface of the lamp tube” may include “the LED light sources aredisposed above the reflective film, within an opening in the reflectivefilm or beside the reflective film.”

As an example, the feature “the end cap including the thermal conductivemember” may include “the end cap includes an electrically insulatingtube, the hot melt adhesive is partially or completely filled in theaccommodation space between the inner surface of the thermal conductivemember and the outer surface of the lamp tube.” The feature “the end capincluding the magnetic metal member” may include “the magnetic metalmember is circular or non-circular, has openings orindentation/embossment to reduce the contact area between the innerperipheral surface of the electrically insulating tube and the outersurface of the magnetic metal member; has supporting portions andprotruding portions to support the magnetic metal member or reduce thecontact area between the electrically insulating tube and the magneticmetal member.”

As an example, the feature “the LED light source being provided with thelead frame” may include “the lead frame has a recess for receive an LEDchip, the recess is enclosed by first sidewalls and second sidewallswith the first sidewalls being lower than the second sidewalls, whereinthe first sidewalls are arranged to locate along a length direction ofthe lamp tube while the second sidewalls are arranged to locate along awidth direction of the lamp tube.”

As an example, the feature “utilizing the circuit board assembly toconnect the LED light strip and the power supply” may include “thecircuit board assembly has a long circuit sheet and a short circuitboard that are adhered to each other with the short circuit board beingadjacent to the side edge of the long circuit sheet; the short circuitboard is provided with a power supply module to form the power supply;the short circuit board is stiffer than the long circuit sheet.”

According to the design of the LED module of the power supply module,the LED module comprises plural strings of LEDs connected in parallelwith each other, wherein each LED may have a single LED chip or pluralLED chips emitting different spectrums. Each LEDs in different LEDstrings may be connected with each other to form a mesh connection.

The above-mentioned features of the present invention can beaccomplished in any combination to improve the LED tube lamp, and theabove embodiments are described by way of example only. The presentinvention is not herein limited, and many variations are possiblewithout departing from the spirit of the present invention and the scopeas defined in the appended claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A thermo-compression head for heating a solderand bonding at least one first soldering pad on a first object and atleast one second soldering pad on a second object, the first objectoverlaying a part of the second object, the at least one secondsoldering pad being between the first object and the second object, theat least one first soldering pad being aligned with the at least onesecond soldering pad, wherein the thermo-compression head comprises: abonding plane for touching the second object; a restraining planeadjacent to the bonding plane for touching the first object; at leastone concave guiding tank formed on the bonding plane, and wherein an endof the at least one concave guiding tank is opened near an edge of thebonding plane while an opposite end of the at least one concave guidingtank is closed; and at least one concave molding tank formed on therestraining plane and positioned beside the at least one concave guidingtank, and wherein the at least one concave molding tank communicateswith the at least one concave guiding tank via the open end of the atleast one concave guiding tank.
 2. The thermo-compression head accordingto claim 1, wherein the at least one concave molding tank is moredepressed than the at least one concave guiding tank.
 3. Thethermo-compression head according to claim 1, wherein the restrainingplane is lower than the bonding plane to form a difference of height ofthe bonding plane and the restraining plane.
 4. The thermo-compressionhead according to claim 3, wherein the difference of the height of thebonding plane and the restraining plane is substantially equal to athickness of the first object.
 5. The thermo-compression head accordingto claim 1, wherein an end of the at least one concave molding tank isopened near an edge of the restraining plane to communicate with the atleast one concave guiding tank while an opposite end of the at least oneconcave molding tank is opened near an opposite edge of the restrainingplane.
 6. The thermo-compression head according to claim 1, wherein therestraining plane has a strip-like structure or a grid-like structure ona surface for pressing the first object.
 7. The thermo-compression headaccording to claim 1, wherein the bonding plane has a surface beingflat, concave, or convex for touching the second object.
 8. Thethermo-compression head according to claim 1, wherein the first objectis an LED light strip, the second object is a power supply, the at leastone first soldering pad is on a side of the LED light strip away fromthe power supply, and the at least one first soldering pad is formedwith a through hole and is able to be connected to the at least onesecond soldering pad via the through hole.
 9. The thermo-compressionhead according to claim 1, further comprising a rotary linkagemechanism, wherein the bonding plane and the restraining plane areconnected to the rotary linkage mechanism.
 10. The thermo-compressionhead according to claim 9, further comprising a pressure sensor, whereinthe pressure sensor detects the pressure applied to the bonding plane orthe restraining plane.
 11. A soldering system for heating a solder andbonding at least one first soldering pad on a first object and at leastone second soldering pad on a second object, the first object overlayinga part of the second object, the at least one second soldering pad beingbetween the first object and the second object, the at least one firstsoldering pad being aligned with the at least one second soldering pad,wherein the soldering system comprises: a soldering vehicle comprising:a rotary platform for holding the first object and the second object;and a vehicle holder bearing the rotary platform, wherein the rotaryplatform is able to rotate with respect to the vehicle holder; and athermo-compression head positioned corresponding to the rotary platform,the thermo-compression head comprising: a bonding plane for touching thesecond object; a restraining plane adjacent to the bonding plane fortouching the first object; at least one concave guiding tank formed onthe bonding plane, wherein an end of the at least one concave guidingtank is opened near an edge of the bonding plane while an opposite endof the at least one concave guiding tank is closed; and at least oneconcave molding tank formed on the restraining plane and positionedbeside the at least one concave guiding tank, wherein the at least oneconcave molding tank communicates with the at least one concave guidingtank via the open end of the at least one concave guiding tank.
 12. Thesoldering system according to claim 11, wherein the bonding plane has asurface being flat, concave, or convex for touching the second object.13. The soldering system according to claim 11, wherein the bondingplane is for heating a solder.
 14. The soldering system according toclaim 11, wherein the first object is an LED light strip, the secondobject is a power supply, the at least one first soldering pad is on aside of the LED light strip away from the power supply, and the at leastone first soldering pad is formed with a through hole and is able to beconnected to the at least one second soldering pad via the through hole.15. An LED tube lamp manufactured by a soldering system for heating asolder and bonding at least one first soldering pad on a first objectand at least one second soldering pad on a second object, the firstobject overlaying a part of the second object, the at least one secondsoldering pad being between the first object and the second object, theat least one first soldering pad being aligned with the at least onesecond soldering pad, wherein the soldering system comprises: asoldering vehicle comprising: a rotary platform for holding the firstobject and the second object; and a vehicle holder bearing the rotaryplatform, wherein the rotary platform is able to rotate with respect tothe vehicle holder; and a thermo-compression head positionedcorresponding to the rotary platform, the thermo-compression headcomprising: a bonding plane for touching the second object; arestraining plane adjacent to the bonding plane for touching the firstobject; at least one concave guiding tank formed on the bonding plane,wherein an end of the at least one concave guiding tank is opened nearan edge of the bonding plane while an opposite end of the at least oneconcave guiding tank is closed; and at least one concave molding tankformed on the restraining plane and positioned beside the at least oneconcave guiding tank, wherein the at least one concave molding tankcommunicates with the at least one concave guiding tank via the open endof the at least one concave guiding tank.
 16. The LED tube lampaccording to claim 15, comprising: a lamp tube; two end capsrespectively at two opposite ends of the lamp tube; a power supply inone or separately both of the end caps; and an LED light strip in thelamp tube, the LED light strip being provided with a plurality of LEDlight sources mounted thereon, the LED light sources being electricallyconnected to the power supply via the LED light strip; wherein the firstobject is the LED light strip, the second object is the power supply,the LED light strip overlays a part of the power supply, the LED lightstrip comprises the at least one first soldering pad, the power supplycomprises the at least one second soldering pad, the at least one secondsoldering pad is between the LED light strip and the power supply, theat least one first soldering pad is aligned with the at least one secondsoldering pad, and the at least one first soldering pad is connected tothe at least one second soldering pad via a solder.
 17. The LED tubelamp according to claim 16, wherein the at least one first soldering padis on a side of the LED light strip away from the power supply, and theat least one first soldering pad is formed with a through hole and isconnected to the at least one second soldering pad via the through hole.18. The LED tube lamp according to claim 17, wherein a part of thesolder is in the through hole and another part of the solder is aroundan edge of the LED light strip.
 19. The LED tube lamp according to claim16, wherein the two end caps have different sizes in a length directionalong the axle of the end caps.
 20. The LED tube lamp according to claim19, wherein the size of one of the end caps is substantially 30% to 80%times the size of the other one of the end caps.